Child dies after being left in hot car in Lauderdale County

Aug 9, 2006 03:43 PM

RIPLEY, Tenn. (AP) - A 15-month-old boy died this afternoon in Ripley when left in a hot pickup truck.

The Lauderdale County sheriff's office quoted the boy's mother as saying she left the toddler in the vehicle for ten to 15 minutes outside the residence of a friend.

Twenty-four-year-old Kimberly Hicks of Lauderdale County said she left the truck running but discovered later that the air conditioner blew hot air instead of cold. She was jailed on a charge of reckless homicide.

Temperatures were believed to be in the 90s at the time of the 2 p-m incident. The boy apparently was seated in an infant seat in the right rear seat of the truck.

Hicks told investigators she tried to resuscitate her son after returning to the vehicle. An autopsy is to be done in Nashville.