California Toddler Dies After Mom Leaves Him In Hot Car To ‘Socialize’ With Friends
Alexandrea Raven Scott, a 23-year-old mother from California, is behind bars after being arrested in connection to the tragic death of her 18-month-old son.
According to the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office’s press release on Facebook, Chergery Teywoh Lew Mays was determined to have been left in the car for roughly 10 hours alone in the back seat with the windows rolled up, while his mother “socialized” with her friends.
Police believe Scott left her toddler in the vehicle on 3 a.m. of Wednesday morning.
“Once there, Scott, who resides in Humboldt County, socialized with people while leaving her child in the backseat of her car which was parked in front of the residence with the windows rolled up,” according to a statement on the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.
“It is believed the child was left unattended in the back seat of the vehicle with the windows rolled up for about 10 hours,” the statement continued.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office recruited deputies to conduct additional investigations which discovered the vehicle the child was left in had been used by a friend of the mother to transport her and her son to the hospital before returning to the scene of the crime.
Investigators did go back to the residence to locate the vehicle and question witnesses to the crime.
The Facebook statement of the incident confirms that Scott was arrested and booked at Mendocino County Jail for “willfully causing or permitting a child to suffer great bodily injury or death.”
Police have asked for anyone with information about this tragic incident to come forward, “Any persons with information about Scott and her activities between 06-19-2018 and 06-20-2018 are encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office tip-line at 707-234-2100.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only toddler who has died after tragically being left in a hot vehicle recently. Elizabeth Marie Barhonovich of Mississippi was arrested earlier this week after leaving her 10-month-old son in a hot vehicle. According to People Magazine, the Mississippi toddler died “after being left in his mother’s vehicle for an unknown length of time while it was parked outside her home in the heat.”
As the Centers for Disease Control confirms, it is never safe to leave a child alone in a vehicle regardless of what the weather is like. This is true even if the windows are cracked or opened.
Toddler died after ‘mum left her in hot car’ for hours while she went to work https://t.co/oYaCM5Cvbr
— The Sun (@TheSun) June 23, 2018
Parents are suggested to do things such as placing their purse, wallet, or cellphone in the backseat with the child or even their left shoe, to ensure they do not forget their child in the back of the vehicle.
