Two-year-old girl dies after being trapped in hot car in New Jersey

A two-year-old girl was found dead in her family’s parked car after reportedly being left in sweltering heat for what may have been seven hours, sources and neighbours tell NBC New York.

A neighbour in the residential area of Franklin Township, New Jersey, made the grim discovery of the girl unresponsive in the backseat of the Honda Civic parked in the family’s driveway on Tuesday afternoon.

The neighbour, who is a firefighter, quickly called police from a fire radio at about 2.20pm and then began performing CPR on the toddler, who had gone into cardiac arrest.

When law enforcement officers arrived at the home, they saw the neighbour performing the lifesaving procedure on the child and assisted until emergency responders arrived on the scene. The child was pronounced dead shortly after.

The child’s parents reportedly hadn’t realised the tragedy that had unfolded just metres from their front doorstep when officers knocked to deliver the news. Neighbours on the quiet suburban street said they heard their wails from blocks away.

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“They were just screaming in pain and anguish. She collapsed to the ground and he went to console her,” said one neighbour in an interview with NBC New York. “They’re great parents. I’ve seen them be very loving and doting on their daughters.”

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has so far released scant details about the child’s death, noting only that the fatality had occurred in the township and that the investigation would be carried out by the Prosecutor’s and Franklin Township Police detectives.

“Authorities have notified the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office who will be responding to conduct the investigation,” said Deputy Chief Frank Roman, from the Prosecutor’s Office, in a statement. “No further details will be released at this time while investigators conduct their investigation.”

The deputy chief added that it was unclear at the time whether the car had been locked or unlocked, or whether the child had been in a carseat.

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After several hours of the scene being processed by law enforcement agencies, the vehicle was towed away.

All that remained at the scene in the days after was a single bouquet of flowers, laid in front of a tree in the family’s lawn.

“How can that happen? How do you forget? I guess we’re all forgetful, I’ve forgotten things in the car. But how do you forget the toddler, you know? I don’t know,” said neighbour Alex Krstavski in an interview with NBC New York.

Though officers have not released an exact timeline of the child’s death, local news reported that it was estimated that she had been left inside the car on a day when highs in New Jersey were in the 90s.

An autopsy for the child is scheduled to be performed by the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, where the office will determine the official cause and manner of death.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

This article was amended on 2 September 2022 to make it clear that sources had said the child was thought to have been in the vehicle for up to seven hours. The headline on an earlier version said that the child had been in the car for seven hours.