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2-year-old Arizona girl dies after dad leaves her in car during triple-digit heat: Police (abcnews.go.com)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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A 2-year-old girl has died after her father left her in a hot car in Arizona, where residents are enduring triple-digit temperatures, according to authorities.

The father was running errands with his daughter, and when he returned home Tuesday afternoon, he allegedly knowingly left the 2-year-old in the car, Marana Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant told ABC News.

He left the car running and the air conditioning on, Brunenkant said.

The dad went into the house, and when he returned to the car between 30 and 60 minutes later, the car was off, Brunenkant said.

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[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 70 points 1 month ago

The dad went into the house, and when he returned to the car between 30 and 60 minutes later

This is the part that really confuses me, they were home. I get that parents sometimes need a break from their kid but:

You're home, so take your kid inside and then you go somewhere else.
30 to 60 minutes?!? I can understand taking 10 minutes (which is still a dangerous amount of time) but WTF was going on for 30 to 60 minutes.

I know it's not the point of the article, but I'm also annoyed at the idea of someone intending to run their car for 30-60 minutes for no reason. I will admit I've left my car running just for the comfort of A/C while I'm waiting, and I don't live in Arizona heat, but dude was home.

[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The only thing aside from wanting a break was maybe the kid was asleep and the engine keeps them asleep? Cars put lots of kids to sleep.

Didn't want to wake the kid and wanted the break?

Not an excuse though, should have stayed in the car if that's what was up.

[-] Retrograde@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

I'll leave this article here but fair warning, it's a tough read

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html

[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 35 points 1 month ago

That's very different though. This article states he "knowingly left the 2-year-old in the car".

[-] Retrograde@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Wow I was really tired and missed that keyword, damn that's messed up. Definitely liable

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[-] HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.one 2 points 1 month ago

That’s Standard dad-poop session.he must’ve really been turtling. But if it came down to it, i would poop my pants and let my kid live. But i’m a good dad.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

Try that fucker for murder.

[-] lmaydev@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

Yeah this isn't a tragic accident, like they so often are.

This is straight neglect.

[-] MagicShel@programming.dev 19 points 1 month ago

It doesn't say, but as a parent of five kids, I'm going to bet the 2 year old fell asleep and dad didn't want to wake her. Maybe I'm being too generous, but I guess I'd need more information to be so certain about judging them.

I've probably done shit like this before although I'd never let the car out of my sight. And certainly not in 111 degrees. A/C doesn't really work that well when the car isn't in motion.

[-] lmaydev@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago

As a parent of 4 kids I can safely say I would never leave them in a car in that heat. No matter the circumstances.

[-] stiephelando@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 1 month ago

Agreed. You can carry a 2y inside or stay with them in the car to make sure they're safe

[-] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 month ago

What I imagine has led decent parents to tragedy:

Change in Routine - daily schedule changes after years of it being the exact same, now suddenly your coparent is sick or something and you get the kid
Sleeping Child
Miscommunication - parents believe the other already took the child out

Can you imagine… man. Most mistakes, consequences are more like you have to drive back to the store to pickup the milk you forgot. Not a lifetime of regret and maybe jail time, lawyers’ fees, judgement…

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

Why was the car off when he returned if he left it running with the AC on?

It’s a tragedy, but if I’m on the jury I’m not sure I would convict him.

[-] The_v@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Many modern vehicles automatically turn off after 30-60 minutes idling "to save fuel". I order to turn it off you have to hit the A button on the dash. it's proven to be deadly.

[-] Thorry84@feddit.nl 2 points 1 month ago

Just curious, what kind of deadly situation is created when people leave their cars idling for so long?

I'm the kind of person that turns the car off if there is a train coming and I need to wait 5 minutes. I can't imagine leaving the car running for more than a couple of minutes.

I think if the car is turned on with a button and the key is replaced with a card that works at a distance, a feature that turns the car off when sitting idle for a while seems like a sensible thing. It's way more likely to be on by mistake than left running for a reason.

But would love to hear what kind of situations there are, I'm just unfamiliar with them.

[-] MagicShel@programming.dev 7 points 1 month ago

First obviously you don't want to let a car idle in an enclosed space. That's deadly to anyone in the car/garage but also potentially to folks inside the house if it is poorly ventilated.

I would definitely want the car running in 111 degree heat, even when stopped for a train or in a fast food line.

On the other hand, my vehicle, a Chevy Volt PHEV will turn itself off after about 4 hours. While this seems logical, a lot of people who camp inside it or use it to power their camp gear find it really inconvenient to have everything turn off at 1AM. So they recommend a hair tie around the gear shift button to keep the car from turning off.

So there are reasons both for having an auto-off feature and for not having it.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Leaving a two-year-old alone in a car for 30-60 minutes (he doesn't even know how long he was gone) ~~isn't~~ is criminal in and of itself regardless of the weather. On top of that, he knew it was in the triple digits and he's also not so stupid that he doesn't know that cars can break down. I don't know what to tell you. I just hope you aren't responsible for any toddlers.

Edit: Stupid typo.

[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago

Leaving a two-year-old alone in a car for 30-60 minutes (he doesn’t even know how long he was gone) isn’t criminal in and of itself regardless of the weather.

... ummmm, yes it is. Leaving a toddler unattended for an extended period of time is literally multiple crimes.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Oops. Meant is criminal.

[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 5 points 1 month ago

My mom's car, a mid-'10s Acura, will turn itself off if you leave with the key and get too far away from the car for too long without enabling valet mode.

[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

Most modern cars have an auto-off feature. Some have a button to temporarily disable it.

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Mine is one such car but it only turns itself off while in drive to save gas at stoplights and such. It doesn’t turn itself off when running while in park.

[-] stinkycheese@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago

You're thinking of the auto start-stop feature. That is a different feature which aims to save gas while you press the brake pedal.

What others in the thread are talking about is a feature that will fully power off the vehicle after it has been sitting idle for a longer period of time. This includes turning off the engine and any of the electronics that normally continue to run during the auto start-stop.

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Could be but it must have a very long timeout. My wife frequently opts to wait in the car while I go run an errand, but I’ve admittedly never timed it. 30min would definitely be on the high end though. If I ever made her wait 60 I’d probably be divorced.

[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago

My 2020 VW Golf definitely turns itself off when in park, but also has the button to disable it.

It will even require a manual restart if it's been parked long enough, which gets annoying when I spend a little too long dropping off/picking up something, and don't notice the message, put it in drive, see the message and try to start the car, but can't until I put it back in park. /rant

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[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Because it looks like it may have been a tesla and those are failure machines for idiots.

The car probably had "AI" face detection of vulnerable children in high heat conditions which then triggered a "surge subscription" notification on the app. "Upgrade to infant climate+ NOW, in the next 2 minutes, or your air conditioning will be temporarily shifted to heater until you decide to upgrade. Thank you."

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[-] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

This shit is so fucking infuriating. That innocent child suffered before she died.

[-] sucricdrawkcab@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

I blast my AC full blast and roll down all the windows just to pump gas in heat.

[-] Delusional@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

You shouldn't have the car running while pumping gas.

[-] sucricdrawkcab@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Did I mention I light up a cigarette, pull out my phone, then almost at the end I hold a water bottle and try to see if I can shoot.... I turn my car off.

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[-] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

As a fellow parent, I will never empathize or sympathize with these poor decisions. How could you leave your fucking child in the car, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. Idgaf if they were sleeping or whatever. Idgaf how exhausted you are. You have a responsibility to your child. If they are so difficult to keep put them up for adoption or some shit. I’ve never and could never forget my kids or leave my kids somewhere like this. This is pure stupidity.

I don’t think he should be charged but the mother should be entitled to a divorce with alimony at the expense of the father. He is the type of person to not give a shit about anyone but himself.

[-] HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.one 2 points 1 month ago

I really want to wonder why this keeps happening but some people are just careless or evil. Or both.

[-] vxx@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

They're stupid and trust the car to keep running.

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this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2024

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