3-year-old dies after found in hot vehicle in Richland County neighborhood
COLUMBIA — A 3-year-old died after being found in a hot vehicle in a Richland County neighborhood.
At around 1 p.m. on May 3, the Richland County Sheriff's Department received a call regarding a missing child.
Deputies started searching the 1000 block of Parliament Lake Drive, a neighborhood near the intersection of Interstate 77 and Interstate 20.
The deputies found the 3-year-old in a hot vehicle, according to the sheriff's department.
Deputies rendered aid while transporting the child to a local hospital where the child was later pronounced dead, according to the department.
In a similar case on Daniel Island, a 16-month-old died after her mother left the baby inside her car in August 2023. Authorities later decided not to pursue charges against the mother. The local coroner called it a "tragic accident."
The mother, a teacher at Bishop England High School, had mistakenly thought she dropped her baby off at day car. That afternoon, three students found the baby unresponsive inside a Subaru SUV parked outside the school's main entrance, according to the incident report.
The car's inside temperature likely topped over 100 degrees, causing the baby to die from environmental hyperthermia, according to the coroner.