A Baltimore family is grieving after their 16-month-old daughter died yesterday afternoon. She went into cardiac arrest after being left in a car for four hours in scorching heat.
"Somebody don't have no heart. I can't believe it," said Aura Mendez, a neighbor.
It's tough on neighbors, knowing now a 16-month-old girl was found in cardiac arrest and later died at the hospital. She's identified as Sabriya Towels.
"No common sense. You don't need an education to do that. It's just sad," said Brian Salvato, a neighbor.
Towels was found around 1 p.m. on McDowell Ln. in Lansdowne. Now police say it may have been an accident.
A relative, not a parent, was supposed to drop her off at the Highland Village Head Start Center. But instead, he drove to their home on South Paca St. and went inside to sleep.
Four hours later, he went to pick up the child but ran back out and found her in the truck.
The relative only found out Sabriya hadn't gotten out when he went to Highland Village to pick her up, and was told she'd never arrived that morning. He ran to his car and found her unconscious. She was taken to St. Agnes Hospital, but it was too late to save her.
I'm left wondering how this guy wasn't taken into custody. It was almost 90 degrees outside yesterday in Baltimore. Even without that to consider, how do you not make sure that little girl was awake once you pull into Head Start? This guy's behavior was completely inexcusable.
The Baltimore County state's attorney (the equivalent of a DA outside Maryland) is deciding whether charges should be filed. Hard to believe there's even a debate about it. In what world is this not manslaughter?