8 Week-Old Baby Dies in Hot Car During Heatwave, Marking 11th Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke in US This Year

An 8-week-old girl died Monday after being left in a hot car in New Jersey, leading to charges against her father.

Lakewood police responded to a call on New Egypt Road just before 2 p.m. about a child in cardiac arrest, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. First responders arrived and attempted to revive the infant, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to NBC New York, an investigation by police and the prosecutor’s office revealed the girl had been left alone in her father’s car for an extended period.

It’s unclear how long the child was in the vehicle. However, Monday’s temperatures in the mid-90s caused the car’s interior to heat up quickly. Subsequently, police arrested Avraham Chaitovsky, 28, and charged him with endangering the welfare of a child.

The Lakewood Scoop reports that the baby was located in the “parking lot of a Kollel.”

“This is the first Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) death in New Jersey in 2024 and the 11th nationwide,” Jan Null, Jan Null, CCM, Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at San Jose State University, told CrimeOnline in an emailed statement.

“Since 1998 there have been 16 PVH deaths in New Jersey, including one in Lakewood in May 2019.”

The infant’s name has not yet been released. Check back for updates.

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