Mother Faces M-ur-der Charge After 1-Year-Old Son Di-es in Hot Car Outside Hospital During Her Eight-Hour Shift
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A 1-year-old boy died inside a hot car Wednesday after his mother forgot him in the back seat while working an eight-hour shift at a Lawrenceville hospital, according to police.
Looks like we’re having trouble loading this video. You can check out other videos while we get it together.
Lawrenceville police give update after child dies in hot car
A 1-year-old boy died Wednesday after being left inside a hot car for over eight hours at Northside Gwinnett Hospital, police said.
What we know:
Officers arrived at the hospital’s employee parking lot across from the emergency room following reports of an unresponsive child inside a vehicle around 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
First responders forced entry into the car and attempted lifesaving measures, but the boy was already dead inside the car seat.
Investigators determined the vehicle belonged to hospital employee Deja Coleman, 29, who was working inside the building at the time.
During an interview, Coleman told investigators she drove her three children to Starlight Academy Daycare for morning drop-off.
Coleman told police her routine was to drop her two older children off at daycare, take them inside first because one has special medical needs, and then return to the car for the baby. She told investigators she forgot to make that second trip Wednesday morning after arriving at work around 6:55 a.m.
Surveillance cameras verified that she arrived at the hospital parking lot sometime after 6:55 a.m. and went inside for her normal workday.
Around 3:50 p.m., a coworker returning to a neighboring vehicle spotted the toddler slumped over and called 911.
Officers working part-time jobs at the facility reached the vehicle in less than three minutes, according to the Lawrenceville Police Department.
Police took a temperature reading inside the car an hour after removing the child, and the reading reached 117 degrees despite the broken window.
Authorities booked Coleman into the Gwinnett County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree felony cruelty to children.
The medical examiner’s office, as well as the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office, were notified and responded to the scene. DFACS was also notified and responded. The vehicle was impounded to the police department pending processing.
Coleman’s older children are with their father after her arrest, police said.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not released the official cause of death from the medical examiner’s office.
It remains unclear if Coleman will be granted bond following her initial booking.
