Cobb County police in Georgia are investigating the death of a toddler who passed away inside a parked vehicle Thursday evening in Marietta.
According to 11 Alive News, police said a child was discovered in the vehicle after 6:30 p.m., at a home in the 800 block of Wanda Circle. During a brief press statement Tuesday, Cobb County Chief Stuart VanHooze said the victim as a 2-year-old.
“Unfortunately, last evening, we began the investigation on the death of a child from a hot car incident. My only role today really is to extend our sympathies to family, friends, and the neighbors and all those affected by this tragedy,” he said.
At this time, no criminal charges have been filed and there is “no evidence” that the victim was “left” in the car, police said. It’s also unclear how long the toddler had been in the vehicle before being discovered.
“My only other message to the community right now is that we need some time to sort this out before we really know what happened,” Chief Vanhooze said.
“If I were in the position of this father, mother, sibling, or friend, I would want a lot of grace and support right now. That’s what I would ask of our community; we have a great community.”
“This is the first Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) death in Georgia this year and the 6th such confirmed tragedy in the United States,” Jan Null, CCM, Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at San Jose State University, said. “Last year, on this date, there had already been 12 PVH deaths. ”
According to No Heat Stroke, 29 children in total died of vehicular heatstrokes in 2023.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Pexels]
