PECOS, Texas (CNN) – A tragic story out of Pecos. A baby died after being left in a hot car for an hour Tuesday afternoon. Police say the mother could be facing manslaughter charges.
“I think we’ve had over 20-something straight days of triple digits temperatures,” said Chief Clay D. McKinney of the Pecos Police Department.
McKinney said when officers tested the car, it registered at 200 degrees. The mother, Annabelle Millan, 21, told police she left the child in the car for approximately one hour.
“Her, the infant that passed away, two other kids, and the father left the residence so she could take the father to work. When she dropped the father off and came back to the residence, her and the two other children got out of the car,” said McKinney.
17-month-old Avrian Villalobos was left in the hot car. Police say an hour later the mother realized the baby was in the car. She found him unconscious and rushed him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“Child Protective Services were summoned also yesterday (Tuesday) and the other two children were removed from the home,” said McKinney.
As of right now, no charges have been filed.
“Typically in a case like this, if the evidence supports it of course, it probably would be a manslaughter charge,” said McKinney.
Police say there are no indication of drugs or alcohol to be involved in this tragic death. An autopsy will be done in Lubbock.
“What can you do from an incident like this, a tragic incident, but to learn from it. But you know you’re responsible for your children and everything is even magnified with the heat we’ve been having. It just does not take long for a vehicle to get hot enough to cause a death,” said McKinney.
