Samaria Motyka: Pennsylvania 4-Year-Old Dies After Being Left In Hot Car By Babysitter [Video]
A Pennsylvania preschooler, Samaria Motyka, died on Friday after she was left alone in a hot car. The tragic incident took place on July 22, when the 4-year-old was left in a hot car for most of the day in the midst of a heat wave. According to an US Weekly report, Samaria Motyka’s babysitter, who has yet to be publicly identified, had been slated with the task of dropping the Pennsylvania girl off at daycare that morning.
Apparently, the babysitter somehow forgot about the child, who was strapped in the vehicle’s backseat, and drove to work rather than daycare. The caregiver then went to work as scheduled, leaving Samaria Motyka trapped in the back seat of the hot car for the rest of the scorching day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS5UduPJ4K8
According to local police reports, Samaria Motyka’s babysitter returned to the car, parked at her Williamsport place of employment, at around 3:30 p.m. local time on Friday. The temperature in that area of Pennsylvania reached an oppressive 97 degrees outside that afternoon. The temperature inside the hot car where Samaria Motyka had been negligently trapped was much, much higher, and the child was unresponsive when her babysitter realized that she was still in the vehicle and had been all day.
Samaria Motyka, age 4, died this weekend. She was left in a hot car for hours https://t.co/o5LkNU3hfX pic.twitter.com/yJOWbsqLNt
— Hamilton Spectator (@TheSpec) July 25, 2016
Local law enforcement got a call shortly after Pennsylvania 4-year-old Samaria Motyka was discovered in the hot car. First responders did their best to revive the little girl on scene, then transported her to Williamsport Regional Medical Center.
Samaria was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
A local resident who was interviewed regarding the tragic death of 4-year-old Samaria Motyka was horrified by the tragedy, and got emotional as she spoke of the fate of the little girl.
“With today’s heat, it’s horrible, horrible. Makes me want to cry.”
@SandraDance1977 @TheSpec OUR U KIDDING ME! WAKE UP PARENTS! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING REALLY BEING A FATHER OF 5 ALL CAN SAY IS WHY……
— ANTONIO COLELLA (@SPQR_VIRIBUS) July 25, 2016
I am opposed to the death penalty, but if you leave a child or animal in a hot car on a day like today I could so look the other way.
— Ann-Marie Poli ?? (@annmariepoli) July 25, 2016
Currently, Pennsylvania and much of the U.S. Northeast is in the grip of a pervasive and deadly heatwave. The current stretch of record high temperatures in the area has gone on longer than any heatwave since 2013.
Neighbors of Samaria Motyka are in disbelief that the young Pennsylvania girl could have lost her life so senselessly, especially in the midst of almost continuous public heat warnings, reports WNEP 16.
“My kids are my world, so you know, I could never just forget them like that. I am just mind blown about it.”
Every year dozens of children lose their lives in hot car-related accidents. The problem has become so widespread in the United States that public health officials have come up with a barrage of tips to help ensure that parents and caregivers don’t forget about their children when they get out of the car. Some suggestions include leaving one shoe in the back seat next to your little one or leaving your purse/cell phone next to your child’s car seat.
4-year-old girl who died after police say she was left in a car identified as Samaria Motyka. https://t.co/8c7tu9GwbN
— WNEP (@WNEP) July 23, 2016
Unfortunately for Pennsylvania’s Samaria Motyka, all of the well-meaning advice in the world did nothing to save her life. The little girl’s body was reportedly autopsied at a Pennsylvania hospital on Saturday to determine the ultimate cause of her death.
Neighbors have very little sympathy for the babysitter who reportedly forgot Samaria Motyka in the backseat of a hot car.
“You remember you brought them out of the house, so you remember to take them with you, so there is no excuse for it.”
Little Samaria was the 20th child in the United States to die in a hot car so far in 2016.
When the outside air temp is 105° {like today}, the inside of your car will heat up to 134° in just 15 minutes! pic.twitter.com/yJp3ahccMk
— Kelly Scott (@AsToldBy_Kell) July 13, 2016
The person responsible for the Pennsylvania preschooler when she was left in the backseat of a hot car for hours, in nearly 100 degree heat. has not yet been officially publicly identified aside from her gender. Some sources have come forward to say that Samaria Motyka’s babysitter on Friday is someone close to the Pennsylvania girl’s family.
So far, no charges have been filed in the death of Samaria Motyka. Reportedly, law enforcement has conducted a toxicology screening on the woman who left her in the hot vehicle. Police are waiting for the results of the toxicology test before they decide whether or not to file criminal charges against the woman who was babysitting Pennsylvania 4-year-old Samaria Motyka at the time of her tragically preventable death.
[Image via Shutterstock]