Girl, 3, dies after being found unconscious in car

Star-Telegram

SOUTHLAKE - The death of a 3-year-old girl Friday evening may be heat-related, Southlake police said Saturday.

The child, whose identity has not been released, was found by her father about 5:30 p.m. in his vehicle parked at a business complex in the 600 block of East Southlake Boulevard (Farm Road 1709), police said.

Police and paramedics found the child unconscious and administered CPR. She was taken to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine and was pronounced dead.

"We do have some indication that it's heat-related," said Lt. Ashleigh Douglas of the Southlake Department of Public Safety. "We are still waiting on the medical examiner's report to confirm that."

An investigator at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause and manner of death could be released as soon as today, or it could take weeks pending the results of toxicology tests.

"We're not sure at this point how long the child was in the vehicle and how the child ended up in the vehicle," Douglas said. "We know the child accompanied the father to the business complex."

Mom Finds Baby in Car
Monday, August 22, 2005, 7:14:22 PM

We know more about the death of a baby last week in Mount Pleasant.

Twelve month old Payton Burchett died in her mother's car after being left there for more than eight hours.

The mother, Danelle Stainbrook, works at the Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant.

She forgot to drop off Payton at her baby-sitter's, and didn't realize the baby was still in the car until she was leaving work later that day.

Experts say parents should keep a purse or briefcase or other essential item in the back seat. They’ll have to get it when they're leaving the car so they'll remember to check the car seat every time.