Girl, 2, Dies; Left Alone In Car

POSTED: 1:23 pm MST October 19, 2008
UPDATED: 2:23 pm MST October 19, 2008

PHOENIX -- A 2-year-old Phoenix girl died Saturday after being left alone in a hot car for three hours, police said.

The father, Westin Peabody, 36, drove his daughter to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, said Officer Luis A. Samudio of the Phoenix Police Department.

The family went to breakfast earlier that morning in the area of 19th and Union Hills avenues and went in three separate vehicles.

After eating, the mother went to work and the father and grandparents went back home in their vehicles., Samudio said.

The father had the 2-year-old child and a 5 year old in the back seat, while the grandparents had a 10 year old in their vehicle, Samudio said.

"When they arrived home, the father assumed that one of the grandparents had taken the 2 -year-old girl out of the vehicle and went to take a nap," Samudio said.

When the grandparent woke up from the nap, they went to check on the child when they noticed the child was left in the vehicle.

Officers arrived at the scene around 2 p.m. after getting a call that a child was not breathing.

Investigators will submit reports to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review and to determine if charges will be placed, Samudio said.