Boy, 5, dies after being left in hot car outside Texas elementary school during triple-digit temperatures

A child died after being left inside a hot vehicle outside an elementary school in Mission, Texas, amid triple-digit temperatures on Thursday, according to authorities.

The 5-year-old boy was found unresponsive in the Dr. Americo Peredes Elementary School parking lot. First responders attempted CPR in an attempt to save the child’s life but were unsuccessful, FOX 29 reported.

“Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Deputies made contact with the La Joya ISD Police Department who stated that a 5-year-old male was discovered in a vehicle, unconscious and not breathing. EMS arrived on scene and determined the child was deceased,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.

The sheriff’s office said the incident is under active investigation.

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The La Joya Independent School District said it would offer counseling services to students and staff at the elementary school.

Thursday’s incident marks the 19th child to die in a hot car in the U.S. this year, according to Kids and Car Safety. There have been four such cases this year in Texas. 

The state is first in the nation for child hot car deaths, and by a significant margin, with at least 150 since 1991.

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More than 1,000 children have died in hot cars across the country since 1990. At least another 7,300 survived being left in hot cars with different types and severities of injuries, data from Kids and Car Safety shows. 

Roughly 87% of children who die in hot cars are three-years-old or younger, and 56% were unknowingly left by an otherwise responsible parent or caregiver.

“We are committed to the push for occupant detection technology in all cars immediately. As we continue our advocacy, children continue to die week after week. It is beyond heartbreaking,” Kids and Car Safety founder and president Janette Fennell said, according to KENS-TV.