Nyla Simmons, 22, a Georgia mother, has been arrested after allegedly leaving her 7-month-old inside a hot car. The infant, who has not been identified publicly, died after being left inside the hot car on a scorching day in Albany, Georgia. According to local NBC and ABC affiliate WALB, Simmons left her baby inside the car before going to work at the Kia Automotive Dealership on Ledo Road in Albany. It is located in the southwest part of the Peach State.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that the investigation began on October 16, after Simmons returned to check on her baby, she discovered something devastating. The woman rushed to a hospital with an unresponsive infant in her arms. However, the doctor soon pronounced the baby dead. A day later, Coroner Michael Fowler conducted an autopsy on the infant. However, the results have not been made public yet.
Mom left 7-month-old baby to die in vehicle at car dealership while she worked inside: Cops https://t.co/wIJ3pPOc4P
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) November 10, 2025
The coroner told WALB, “If there is not any trauma to the child or injuries to the child, then a lot of time, you’ve got to wait on [toxicology] and the histology, all of that, to come in and see what happened.” The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has transferred the case to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. GBI agents arrested Simmons on November 3. She now remains in the Lee County Jail.
It remains unclear how long Nyla Simmons left her baby inside the car, but the temperature hit 88 degrees on that day, as stated by Weather Underground. The woman is now facing charges of second-degree murder and cruelty to a child.
This incident is not isolated, as there have been many cases recorded where a parent left their child inside a hot car, intentionally or unintentionally. Earlier this year, Maya Hernandez, a 20-year-old, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of willful cruelty to a child after her toddler died in a hot car.
Here’s our statement on recent arrest of an Albany woman in an investigation into the death of her seven-month-old infant.
🔗: https://t.co/iRb1F7nKPE pic.twitter.com/qxtaiLdiCC
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) November 5, 2025
Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Mirror US reported that she had an appointment at a Bakersfield med spa and left her two boys, aged 1 and 2 years, strapped to the car seats for more than two hours. Authorities confirmed that the two children were inside without air conditioning for at least 90 minutes. As per the court document, she left the AC on, but it was automatically turned off after an hour or so. This made the car extremely hot as on that afternoon the temperature hit a blazing 99 to 101 degrees.
