Mother Arrested After Child Dies in Hot Car Where She Left Her

A woman has been taken into custody on suspicion of abandoning her small child in a hot car before going to work.

On Thursday, Ashlee Stallings, 36, was arrested by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). The mother is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse by deliberate conduct inflicting severe damage.

Charlotte police issued a statement explaining that on Wednesday, Stallings’ daughter was discovered in a heated car in a severe condition. At about 6:30 p.m., the police received a call. An 8-year-old girl was found inside a vehicle in severe condition upon arrival, according to the police statement. After being taken to the hospital, the victim was declared dead.

The girl’s cause of death was listed as a heat-induced brain herniation in the arrest paperwork. As stated in the affidavit, Stalling observed her daughter foaming at the mouth and gasping for oxygen as she returned to her vehicle.

Stallings smashed the back glass with a hammer and headed for the hospital. She pulled over at a business for assistance.

The mother said she left the keys in the car with the car running and the air conditioning running. She said the girl must have turned off the car because she was cold.

She admitted that she knew the temperature outside was 94 degrees and that she should not have left the victim alone in the car.

Following her arrest, Stallings was turned over to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the charity organization Kids and Car Safety, this tragedy represented at least the sixth hot car death this year.

According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Safety Administration, a kid dies of heat stroke after being left in a car once every ten days. 

An automobile may quickly become dangerously hot for youngsters. On a 90-degree day, the National Weather Service reports that a vehicle’s interior can reach 124 degrees in just 30 minutes.