4-year-old Houston girl dies after being left in hot truck

HOUSTON, Texas — The sun was still out around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night when police were called to an apartment complex on Hollister Road in northwest Houston about a 4-year-old boy unconscious in a van.

“This female was transported to the hospital and unfortunately passed away at the hospital,” HPD Lt. Larry Crowson said.

Police believe there was a misunderstanding between two adult women who entered an apartment with several children and didn’t realize the girl was still in the truck until it was too late. HPD did not say how long the little girl had been there.

“In these types of weather conditions, it doesn’t take a few minutes to cause very serious illness or death to someone left in a car,” Crowson said.

A neighbour who has a child of her own told us on Thursday that hearing the news had made her sick.

“I don’t know what’s going on in these people’s heads when they do these things,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s because they forget.”

Victims’ advocates said it doesn’t take long in the Texas heat. It was very hot with highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity Wednesday.

“Your state leads the nation by a pretty wide margin when it comes to these tragedies,” said Amber Rollins, director of child and auto safety.

The nonprofit tracks hot-car deaths, and its website lists 156 in Texas from 1990 to 2023.

RELATED: 4-year-old girl dies after being left unattended in hot van in northwest Houston, HPD says

Florida is number two with 118.

“A vehicle is a greenhouse,” Rollins explains. “It lets sunlight through the windows, that solar heat. It warms up very quickly, in a very short period of time. In fact, most of the increase happens in the first 10 minutes.”

Last summer, at least three people died in hot cars in Texas.

Among those victims was a Houston infant who died when police said his mother left him unattended while she went to a medical clinic.

“As a mother, I find it sad,” said the neighbor we spoke to about this latest incident.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office will ultimately determine whether charges are appropriate.

Experts recommend placing a purse, wallet or phone in the back seat so children aren’t forgotten. They also advise teaching children of all ages to unbuckle their seat belts, honk their horn and turn on hazard lights to get attention.

Pets should never be left in hot cars either.

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