Mom leaves baby in hot car as she gets lip filler, then he dies, Calif. officials say
A 1-year-old died after being left in a hot car while his mother received a cosmetic procedure, California officials told media outlets.
On June 29, the boy’s mom, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez, left her 1-year-old son Amillio Gutierrez and his 2-year-old brother strapped into their car seats as she went into a Bakersfield med spa to get lip filler, officers told ABC 7.
Although Hernandez left the car’s air conditioning running, a car dealership foreman said the car can turn off after an hour of inactivity, according to court documents obtained by FOX 26.
“Amillio was so special; he always had a smile no matter what. He is loved by so many, our lives will not be the same. His brother will forever be without his best friend,” a GoFundMe page said.
The day reached temperatures of 102 degrees, according to The Weather Channel.
Officers believe the boys were in the car for about 90 minutes without air conditioning, saying “internal temperature of a car can rise to a blistering 143 degrees in just one hour of 100-degree weather,” detective Kyle McNabb with the Bakersfield Police Department told the Los Angeles Times.
When Hernandez left her appointment, she reportedly saw her son foaming at the mouth, having a potential seizure, according to officials. She called officers, who transported him to the hospital with blue lips, no pulse and a body temperature of 107.2 degrees, officers told the Los Angeles Times.
Her 2-year-old son survived and was treated at the hospital before being released to child protective services, officers told FOX 26.
“They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn’t even get up to save themselves,” the boy’s grandma, Katie Martinez, told ABC 7. “She literally locked them in their car seats and shut their doors.”
Hernandez was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty, officers told ABC 7.
She pleaded not guilty and is being held on a bail of $1,080,000, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office told McClatchy News in an email.
She is scheduled to reappear in court on July 11, prosecutors said.
Bakersfield is about a 110-mile drive northwest from downtown Los Angeles.
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