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.

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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.