Two El Paso children left in hot car over just five days

Two El Paso toddlers, left in a hot car, within just five days of one another.

The first, a two-year-old boy, remains in stable condition at a local hospital. The second, a two-year-old girl, is dead.

The latest incident occurred Sunday on the 13000 block of Enrique Gomez in East El Paso. According to the El Paso Fire Department, they arrived at about 1 p.m. Sunday and unsuccessfully performed CPR on two-year-old Hailey Marie Harper.

On a day in the 90’s, temperatures inside a car can reach as high as 140 degrees. And what happened to Hailey shouldn’t happen to anyone.

“It doesn’t have to happen, if parents simply look before they lock,” said CPS Spokesman Paul Zimmerman said a child left in a car will quickly suffer heat stroke.

“When the core body temperature reaches 104, that’s when heat stroke sets in. When the core temperature reaches 107, that’s when organs start to shut down and death can occur.”

Child Protective Services is investigating the death of the girl.

“CPS is investigating to see if abuse and neglect was a factor in that child death,” Zimmerman added. “There was no prior CPS history with the family.”

Crime scene tape still surrounded the home on Monday. A neighbor, who did not want to appear on camera, told ABC-7 that police took three people from this home, all three of them in their 20’s.

“It was two gentlemen and a young lady,” she said. “They were pretty much out of it, I mean, they were crying and hysterical.”

Tax records show the home is owned by a Jesse Harper. ABC-7 asked the neighbor is she could understand how something like that can happen?

“Well, no, not really,” she said. “I mean, I don’t even let my dog stay outside. I understand accidents happen and some people can forget things. But a child in the car? Not really.”

El Paso mother of two, Joanna Contreras, said it’s “irresponsible.”

“I can’t imagine the world without my two year old daughter,” Contreras said. “You can do things to prevent that. One of them, I think, would just be to keep your diaper bag and your phone together.”

Another mother, Veronica Luevano, said: “It’s terrible and I guess it can happen. We’re human.”

She had a couple of good ideas for Moms.

“Maybe have a checklist app on your phone?” Luevano said. “Maybe a motion detector in the vehicle? I think if you have a set schedule and deviate from that it probably contributes.”

Zimmerman suggested these three simple things: Look before you lock. Get in the habit of always checking the back seat for the baby. And hide the keys from the kids, because they are curious and might use them to get back in the car.