A two-year-old girl has tragically died in a van after her father forgot to drop her off at nursery in north-west Spain
A two-year-old girl has tragically died in a van after her father forgot to drop her off at nursery in north-west Spain.
Police said the toddler was exposed to high temperatures after the inside of the vehicle rapidly heated from the 25-degree temperature. The child’s father reportedly went to work and forgot she was still inside the vehicle. Earlier, he had taken his older child to school but then received a phone call which distracted him from his second drop-off. A full investigation is under way to determine exactly what happened.
The tragedy took place in Brion in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia.
According to initial reports, the 29-month-old child died after spending several hours inside the vehicle. Her mother raised the alarm after not finding her at nursery when she went to pick her up in the afternoon.
The child, whose family also lives in Brión, was taken to the Bertamirans Urgent Care Centre in cardiac arrest but did not survive. Medics tried for 20 minutes to revive her. The cause of death is believed to be serious dehydration and heat stroke.
The Civil Guard is investigating the incident. Officers from the Santiago Territorial Judicial Police Team have taken charge of the investigation to clarify the circumstances of the tragic event.
Members of the Psychological Intervention Group in Catastrophes and Emergencies (GIPCE) were brought in to offer specialised support to the girl’s family.
News of the two-year-old girl’s death has shocked all the residents of Brión. The Town Hall has declared two days of official mourning – Thursday and Friday – for this tragic event and has called on all residents to gather in the town square on Friday to observe a minute of silence at noon.
The inside of a vehicle heats up quickly in warm temperatures, and according to the Kids and Car Safety charity, a child’s body overheats three to five times faster than an adult body. In the US, about 40 children die each year in hot vehicles – or one every nine days. Eighty-six per cent of children who have died in a hot vehicle in the US are aged three or younger, according to the charity.
Kids and Car Safety says that child hot car deaths and injuries are “largely misunderstood by the general public”.
“In over half of hot car deaths, the person responsible for the child’s death unknowingly left them in the vehicle. In most situations this happens to the most loving, caring and protective parents,” the charity says. “It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier, and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone…
