Eimi Garcia: Toddler, 2, dies after power window crushes her while playing in car
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: A toddler, identified as Eimi Patlan-Garcia, 2, died after the power window of a car closed on her while she was playing in the parked vehicle, police reported. The girl was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, Saturday, October 2 and later died, Phoenix police confirmed on Tuesday, October 5.
Officers responded to the scene in west Phoenix at about 7:30 pm Oct 2 to an initial report of a traffic collision and instead found the girl inside a car, Phoenix police informed in a statement. "When officers arrived, they learned this was not actually a traffic collision, but a juvenile girl had been injured while playing inside a parked vehicle at the residence. The investigation showed the child was injured when one of the vehicle’s power windows was rolled up on her, " officers said in a statement. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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"There are no obvious signs of foul play at the time, " police noted, adding that the child lived at the home where the accident occurred and her parents had cooperated with investigators. A medical examiner's report ruled the girl's death accidental. The primary cause of her death was asphyxia, according to the report.
Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars, a national nonprofit advocacy group that tracks child fatalities involving vehicles, warned parents not to let children play in or around cars unsupervised. "The temperatures can rise and kids can die really quickly from the heat, but maybe what they aren’t thinking about is the dangers of power windows, " Fennell said. According to the organization's website, more than 65 children have been killed by power windows since 1990, with unidentified numbers of brain injuries and amputated fingers to victims mostly ages three and younger.