North Jersey Child Dead: Left Alone in Hot Car For Hours, Reports Say
FRANKLIN (Somerset) — A young child’s death was under active investigation in the township on Tuesday, according to police, as several reports said a toddler had been left in a hot car.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the death of a child in Franklin Township, while declining to share any other details.
NBC New York cited unnamed sources, reporting that a two-year-old had been left alone for several hours until being discovered by a guardian around 2 p.m.
News 12 and ABC7 Eyewitness News also both reported that the child had been left inside a car, as reporters stood along a suburban street where police remained on scene.
Earlier this summer, three young children in Egg Harbor Township were rescued from a parked, locked car after they were left alone for nearly an hour in the heat, according to township police.
In 2019, two children in New Jersey died in separate hot car incidents — both just younger than 2, left alone in vehicles in Lakewood and Lindenwold.
The temperature inside a car can get dangerously hot, even in moderate weather with the windows slightly down, state officials have stressed in their "Not even for a minute" public awareness campaign.