A three-year-old boy who was tragically found dead in the back of a Toyota Corolla in Sydney’s southwest may have been left in the scorching hot car all day.
The boy was found by his father in the car at about 3pm on Thursday on Railway Parade, Glenfield as temperatures soared to 34C.
Police are investigating whether the father forgot to take his sleeping son to childcare after dropping his older brother off at school in the morning, according to the Daily Mail.
Quoting people who they described as Bangladeshi migrant community sources, the publication claimed the father spent the day working in his home office before returning to his car in the afternoon.
Police are investigating whether the father forgot to take his sleeping son to childcare. Picture: TNV
The back of the family’s Toyota was shattered. Witnesses said the father punched through the back window with his hand in a bid to rescue his unconscious son. Picture: TNV
When he realised his son was locked inside, witnesses claim he punched a hole in the back window of the family car in a desperate bid to rescue him.
The boy was reportedly taken into a nearby bottle shop where members of the public attempted to resuscitate him.
When NSW Ambulance officers arrived, the boy was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy’s father was later seen at the scene breaking down in tears with blood running down his hand.
A crime scene was established and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is underway.
A gut-wrenching tribute left at the scene of the boy’s death. “Rest in Peace little one, see you one day.” Picture John Grainger
The boy’s father was taken to Campbelltown Police Station and questioned by police over the incident, but has since been released without charge, a police spokesman told NCA NewsWire.
Child safety advocates Kidsafe claim more than 5000 children are rescued from hot cars in Australia every year — the majority being babies and toddlers.
“Leaving children unattended in a car – even for a short period of time – can be fatal,” reads information on Kidsafe’s website.
“Children are particularly at risk because they can lose fluid quickly, become dehydrated and suffer from heatstroke.”
In December 2015, celebrity chef Matt Moran called media to a cooking demonstration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach where he’d prepared a piece of lamb using just the interior heat of a parked car.
“This has been in there for a little over an hour and a half,” said Mr Moran, slicing open the meat in a video of the demonstration, “that to me is overdone.”
– With NCA NewsWire
Read related topics:Sydney