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Baby Left In Car Overnight Dies, Parents Arrested
Carseat (Photo by Julius Elias via Shutterstock)
A 4-month-old El Cajon boy died after being left alone in the family car overnight. His parents were arrested while his siblings were taken into protective custody. Parents Israel Soto, 30, and Jessica Quezada, 23, were both arrested on suspicion of willful cruelty toward a child leading to death, police told the Los Angeles Times. Soto was also arrested on drug possession (what kind of drugs weren't clear). The couple's other children aged 3, 2 and 1 were taken into the custody of San Diego County.
The baby was left in the car Friday evening after the family went out on a shopping trip. Parents told investigators that they each believed that the other parents had taken the baby inside. It wasn't until 1:30 p.m. Saturday that the baby was discovered in a hot car, NBC San Diego reported.
He was left in the car overnight after the family returned home Friday from a shopping trip, police said. The baby was found not breathing by family members Saturday afternoon, and efforts to revive the baby weren't successful. The baby died a short while after being transported to the hospital.
What exactly led to the baby being left in the car until he died isn't clear. But if you've got some time to spare on a Sunday afternoon, it's worth reading this Pulitzer Prize-winning story that explains the baffling phenomenon of how many perfectly decent parents accidentally end up leaving their kids in the car.
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