A 5-year-old child died Tuesday after being left in a car in the Springfield area, in what appeared to be a “very tragic accident,” Fairfax County police said.
Police said the child was found unresponsive in the car in the 6700 block of Grey Fox Drive after authorities were called at 3:22 p.m.
Officers attempted CPR and the child was taken to a hospital, where the child was pronounced dead, police said.
According to police, a parent had brought the child home along with the child’s siblings. The others left the car, but the 5-year-old remained in a safety seat. The child’s gender was not given, and it was not clear how long the child was in the car.
Lt. John Lieb, a spokesman with the county police department, said the child may have been in the car for several hours.
“Our heart breaks for this family,” Lieb said. “This is a tragedy.”
Few other details were available.
Lieb said preliminary findings indicated that the death was an accident.
Officials said an autopsy will be done to figure out the exact cause of death, but expect that heat was a contributing factor. Daytime temperatures rose to above 90 degrees on Tuesday in Springfield.
Every year, dozens of children die after being left in hot vehicles. In June 2020, officials said a 11-month-old child died after being left in a car in Fairfax County on a hot day.
Officials reminded caregivers to use extra caution, especially this week as temperatures in the D.C. region are expected to soar.
In the United States, nearly 900 children have died in hot cars since 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA officials said 25 children died of “vehicular heatstroke” last year. In 2018 and 2019, 53 children died each year from being in hot cars, making each of those record years.
NHTSA said a child’s body temperature typically goes up three to five times faster than an adult’s and being left inside a hot car means the child “could die within minutes.”
Experts at NHTSA said research shows that nearly half of the hot car deaths that happen are because a parent or caregiver intended to drop the child off at preschool or day care but forgot and the child was left in the car.
Experts remind caregivers to put an item such as a briefcase, purse or cellphone next to a child’s car seat so they’ll remember to check the back seat before leaving the vehicle. Another tip is to have your child-care provider call if your child doesn’t arrive as planned.
Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.
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