2-month-old Kentucky boy dies after he was left in a car for hours, police say
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A 2-month-old boy in Kentucky died of hyperthermia this week after police say a family member unintentionally left the child in a car for several hours.
Lexington Police Department spokeswoman Brenna Angel said officers were sent about 7:30 p.m. Thursday to a home on a report of a deceased infant.
Based on a preliminary investigation, Angel said detectives believe a family member unintentionally left the child in a car for several hours Thursday.
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Angel said the child was identified by the Fayette Count Coroner's Office as Valen Hakizimana.
An autopsy cited hyperthermia as the cause of death, Angel said.
Around 4 p.m. Thursday, the temperature in Lexington reached 84 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
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No criminal charges have been filed, Angel said, adding that a "specific timeline of events and information regarding the factors involved in this incident are under investigation."
At least eight hundred children have died in hot cars since records began in 1998, according to NoHeatStroke.org.
Thirty-eight children have now died in hot cars in 2019, with two deaths occurring in Kentucky, according to KidsandCars.org.
Cars transform into ovens when direct sunlight heats objects inside. Temperatures can soar to 120 or 130 degrees even when the outdoor temperature is only in the 80s. The body's natural cooling methods, such as sweating, begin to shut down once the core body temperature reaches 104 degrees. Death can occur at 107 degrees.
Contributing: Doyle Rice of USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hot car death: Kentucky 2-month-old left in car for hours, police say
