A two-year-old girl tragically died from heat exposure in Arizona earlier this month after being left alone in a car that reached a searing 108.9°F (42.7°C). Reports suggest her father was distracted by video games while the child remained inside the overheated Honda SUV.
An autopsy report released Wednesday revealed that the vehicle’s temperature had climbed to 42.7°C by the time first responders arrived. The girl, Parker Scholtes, had been left alone in the SUV for about three hours on a July afternoon while her father, Christopher Scholtes, 37, was reportedly outside the vehicle.
At the time, Parker’s mother was away from home. Upon returning, she found her daughter unresponsive in the car, which had lost its air conditioning. Despite her efforts to administer CPR, the child was pronounced dead at a local medical center.
Christopher Scholtes has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the incident.
This case follows another recent tragedy in Omaha, Nebraska, where a five-year-old boy died after being left in a hot car for seven hours by his foster mother.
As parts of the U.S. grapple with a severe heatwave, Arizona is facing extreme temperatures, with Phoenix expected to hit 113°F (45°C) this weekend. Research indicates that residents in mobile homes are especially vulnerable to the intense heat.
