JENNINGS – A 10-month-old baby who was left in a hot car for nearly two hours Tuesday died Wednesday night in an area hospital. Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes said the baby passed away around 11 p.m. Wednesday. No charges have been filed against the mother who left the child in the car unattended after she was called into work at a local restaurant.

“Our office is gathering hospital records, video surveillance and other pieces of evidence, including the mother’s cell phone and will continue to investigate this matter,” Semmes said Thursday. The Jennings Police Department is being assisted in the investigation by the Department of Children and Family Service and the Jeff Davis Parish District Attorney’s Office. The mother, whose name has not been released by authorities, reportedly took the baby to Ochsner American Legion Hospital in Jennings on Tuesday after discovering the child was still in the back seat when she went to leave for work. Hospital staff stabilized the baby before transporting it to an out-of-town hospital where it remained in critical condition.

The mother told police that she was called into work Tuesday and was supposed to drop the baby off at a babysitter. She did not realize the baby was still in the back seat until she went to leave work nearly two hours later, Semmes said. Temperatures in Jennings on Tuesday were in the 90s with triple-digit heat indices.

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