A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in Cordes Lakes, Arizona, where a six-month-old baby boy tragically lost his life after being left alone in a hot car for seven hours.
The incident occurred when a teenage neighbor allegedly forgot to drop the baby off at his father’s house, leading to the baby’s untimely death.
The baby, identified as Travis Carter Jr., was found unresponsive in the back seat of a car parked outside the neighbor’s residence. This was around 9 PM on Tuesday, approximately 60 miles north of Phoenix.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, who arrived promptly, Travis was pronounced dead at the scene. The neighbor, who had been responsible for dropping off the baby, was later arrested and charged with negligent homicide.
Earlier that day, Travis’s mother, Aleesia Phillips, had asked the neighbor for assistance with a trip to Prescott Valley. She had taken Travis along and requested that the neighbor drop him off at his father’s house while she went to work.
However, the neighbor returned home around 2 PM but, instead of taking Travis inside, parked the car in the sun and went into their own house, reportedly forgetting about the baby.
The Realization and Response
As the hours passed, Carter, the baby’s father, reached out to Phillips about 8:45 PM, inquiring about the baby’s arrival. Phillips, concerned, called the neighbor to find out what was happening.
It was then that the horrifying realization dawned—the baby had been left in the car the entire time. The neighbor immediately rushed next door, where both the father and the neighbor tried to revive Travis with CPR before calling 911.
Legal and Community Response
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has since launched an investigation into the incident.
By Thursday, the neighbor had been arrested and charged with negligent homicide. Meanwhile, Michelle Crandall, a family friend, has initiated a fundraiser to help cover the funeral expenses for Travis.
National Context
This tragic event is part of a disturbing trend. So far this year, seventeen children across the US have died in hot cars, with another four deaths still under investigation. One of the other victims was a six-month-old child from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who died on the same day after being left in a car when a parent forgot to drop them off at daycare.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office will continue its investigation and submit findings to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. The neighbor, charged as a juvenile, has not been named publicly.
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