Friday tragedy: Infant left in car for six hours

Angwin death still being probed; hours passed as mother worked

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

The Angwin baby whose lifeless body was found inside her mother’s car Friday afternoon had been left there for six hours.

The life of the 10-month baby girl ended around 3:30 p.m., Friday, when her mother, 27, found the baby unresponsive in back seat of her Honda, sheriff’s Capt. John Robertson said.

The child was taken inside the residence in the 300 block of College Avenue, where the mother and family members administered CPR for about 30 minutes until volunteer firefighters and an ambulance crew arrived on scene.

The tragic events of the day started around 7 a.m., when the mother drove to Napa to show the baby to friends, Robertson said.

“She was driving a black Honda. She normally drives a pickup,” he said.

Robertson said the mother was visiting with her friends when she realized she was going to be late for her job at Angwin Plaza. The mother was the parent who usually took the baby to day care, according to authorities.

The mother drove straight to work with her baby in the car seat. “Because she was late for work, she worked thorough her lunch hour. She left work at 3 p.m. The baby was in the car from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” Robertson said.

The temperature outside the car was from 60 to 80 degrees over the time period the child was in the car. “I do not know what the temperature was inside the car,” Robertson said.

When the mother got off work she drove home, parked the Honda and went inside her home, Robertson said. “She was at home for a while when she left the house to go pick up the baby at day care. She walked outside to the car and saw the baby in the car seat. The child was unresponsive. That’s when she took her inside and started CPR.”

When rescue and fire crews showed up about a half hour later, the baby was taken by ambulance to St. Helena Hospital.

Efforts to revive the baby by hospital staff were unsuccessful. The child was pronounced dead at the emergency room.

“The entire family is so very distraught over this terrible and tragic accident,” Robertson said.

Robertson said a preliminary investigation revealed no signs that the baby had been neglected in the past. “There also is no indication that alcohol or drugs had anything to do with this tragic accident. It is still under investigation.”

Once the sheriff’s detectives have completed their investigation, their findings will be turned over to the district attorney, who will determine if criminal charges will be filed against the baby’s mother.

As of now, no charges have been filed.

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