A baby girl tragically died after being left alone in a car while her parents attended church.
The 11-month-old girl passed away in Palm Bay, Florida after being left unattended in a car for around three hours while her parents attended a church service on Sunday, May 28.
The child was taken to Palm Bay Community Hospital, where she was sadly pronounced dead, police said.
On that day, the outside temperature in southern Brevard County was 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).
Police are investigating the tragic incident further, and no arrests have been made as of yet.
Palm Bay police Chief Mariano Augello said: "This is an unfortunate incident, and our condolences and prayers go out to the family."
It comes just a few days after a one-year-old child died after being left in a car for nine hours in Washington state on Wednesday, May 24.
Police said that the baby girl's foster mother forgot the child was inside the car after arriving at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital.
The woman reportedly arrived at the hospital at 8am that day and returned to the parked car at 5pm to find the lifeless body of the child.
The internal temperature of the car was a baking 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37C).
Puyallup, southeast of Tacoma, had temperatures up to 75 degrees (23C) that day.
Puyallup Police Captain Don Bourbon said: "This is a tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family and those who, everyone who was affected by this."
He added: "As it does get warmer, lives are hectic right now with everything, a lot going on in everyone’s families and lives, and throughout the world.
"So it’s a good time to slow down and kind of take a double take and be aware of what we have around us and our families."
In a statement, the hospital said: "A tragic incident took place at the Good Samaritan campus Wednesday involving an employee and their child.
"This incident also impacted a number of our other team members. MultiCare has offered a number of paths for support for our employees. We extend our condolences to everyone involved."
Noheatstroke.org said that the death makes the fourth paediatric heatstroke fatality this year. The organisation recorded 33 last year alone and 944 since 1998.
On average there are around 38 child heatstroke fatalities per year.
The National Safety Council says on its website that on average, 38 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle.
It adds: "Nearly every state has experienced at least one death since 1998. In both 2018 and 2019 a record number of 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle."
The safety organisation warns against parents and carers leaving young children in hot cars for a period of time. They estimate from data that 53 per cent of indecent" involve a parent or caregiver forgetting the child was in the vehicle".
