A baby in California died last week after his mother left him and his 2-year-old sibling inside a car while she was getting lip filler at a Bakersfield medical spa on a 101-degree day, authorities said.
Bakersfield Police criticized Maya Hernandez for “placing the value of her appearance over the safety and well-being of her children” in a report filed in Kern County Superior Court.
It was the latest in a series of similar deaths. In Belcamp, Maryland, a 6-month-old baby died on Sunday after it was left inside a vehicle. In Silver Spring, Maryland, a baby died under similar circumstances on May 7.
There have been at least 14 such deaths so far this year.
Nationwide, at least 1,139 children have died in hot cars since 1990 and at least another 7,500 survived with varying injuries, according to data collected by the non-profit Kids and Car Safety.
Approximately 88% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger and the majority (55%) were unknowingly left by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver.
90 minutes in a hot car
It is estimated that Hernandez’s children were in the vehicle without air-conditioning for 90 minutes, wrote Det. Kyle McNabb, noting that the internal temperature of a car can rise to a blistering 143 degrees in just one hour of 100-degree weather.
Hernandez told police she found her baby foaming at the mouth and having an apparent seizure after emerging from her procedure at Always Beautiful Medical Spa, according to the police report.
Hernandez’s 2-year-old child recovered from the ordeal and has since been placed in protective custody, according to the police report.
Now the 20-year-old mother has been charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter and two felony counts of willful cruelty to a child, according to the Los Angeles Times.
