SANTAQUIN, Utah, Sept. 5, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Police are investigating the death of a 2-month-old baby boy who was allegedly left inside a hot car in Santaquin last month.
According to a search warrant filed in 4th District Court the 2-month-old boy died August 13.
Doctors who examined the child at Mountain Hospital in Payson told police the infant’s body temperature was 109 degrees when his mother brought him to the emergency room. They said the child appeared to have died hours earlier
Investigators who were called to the hospital also said the mother acted strangely, showing little emotion during their meeting with her. They also said she changed her initial story — that the child died while they were at a local storage unit — and said, instead, the infant was exposed to the sun and heat while they drove through the area looking for a lost dog.
Police in Santaquin continue to investigate the infant’s death. The filing of formal charges has yet to take place.
The national child safety lobbying group KidsandCars.org focused its followers on the incident in Santaquin, saying it was “the 40th child to die in a hot car this year nationwide and the first in Utah.”
The group also said 2018 was the worst year in history for child hot car deaths with a total of 53 nationwide.
“The Hot Cars Act is a federal bill would require technology in all vehicles to help prevent these unthinkable fatalities,” the news release said. “KidsAndCars.org is working hard to make sure it is passed quickly.”
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
