Toronto toddler left in hot Texas SUV dies
Temperature inside vehicle was 50 C: police
Last Updated: Friday, August 20, 2010 | 10:13 PM ET
CBC News
Police have identified the boy who died after being left in a car alone for almost two hours in suburban Houston as Khoa Nguyen of Toronto. (Courtesy of KHOU-TV)A Toronto toddler died Thursday after he was left unattended in a sweltering SUV for almost two hours outside a home in suburban Houston, Texas.
Harris County police said Friday that two-year-old Khoa Nguyen was left in the SUV after a trip to the grocery store with his parents and four other family members.
The boy and his family, who are from Etobicoke in west Toronto, were visiting relatives in Harris County just outside Houston.
After their vehicle pulled into the driveway at the home around noon CT, they had to immediately attend to the boy's seven-year-old brother, police said
Det.-Sgt. Ben Beall of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department said earlier reports that the seven-year-old suffered a seizure were incorrect. Rather, the youngster, who is autistic, needed to eat, and his parents wanted to ensure he was fed on time, said Beall.
"They have him on a very strict schedule. The father was seeing to that child's need, plus bringing in the groceries, plus all the other people at the house — you know, he just lost track of the two-year-old," said Beall.
The boy's father called police at around 2 p.m. CT after he found the toddler wasn't breathing. EMS workers administered CPR to the boy and rushed him to hospital.
He died at about 3:30 p.m. at Houston Northwest Medical Center. His body core temperature was about 40.6 C, said Sumner. The average core human body temperature is 37 C.
The temperature inside the car was 50 C, said police.
It hasn't been determined if there will be any criminal charges, although Beall said there is no indication this was an intentional act.
