Forgotten Baby Left In Hot Car For 9 Hours Dies West Of Moscow ID

A baby has died from heat exposure in northwestern Washington after a mother allegedly went to work and forgot the infant was in the car. State police reported temperatures inside the automobile climbed to triple digits.

A Washington mother is the center of an investigation after she reportedly left her one-year-old child in her car while working for several hours, according to the information provided by KOMO News. The incident occurred in the city of Puyallup, which is located 300 miles west of Moscow, Idaho.

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It's horrible enough when these types of stories break regarding animals left in hot vehicles, but to have it happen to a young child is even more heartbreaking. Annually, this happens all too often in the United States. Recently, a two-year-old Florida child was also the victim of death by exposure after being left in a hot car by the parents for several hours.

Each year in the U.S., an average of 40 kids die from heatstroke in automobiles, according to United States Department of Transportation figures. Since 1998, there have been well over 900 cases throughout the country, according to NHTSA data.

Temperatures can reach well over 100 degrees in automobiles in a short time, which can have devastating results for pets and infants, in particular, who have no way of aiding themselves in these situations. Even cracking windows or parking in shaded areas isn't good enough on warm days to justify leaving kids and dogs in cars.