Special Crash Investigations: Remote Hyperthermia Fatality Investigation; Vehicle: 2016 Toyota Highlander; Location: Virginia; Incident Date: June 2020

This remote investigation documents the circumstances surrounding the hyperthermia death of an 11-month-old female who was left in a 2016 Toyota Highlander by her father for approximately 4.5 hours. In the early afternoon the father placed the child in a rear-facing child restraint system (CRS) in the second-row left position of the Toyota parked at the family residence. His intent was to drive his mother (the child’s grandmother) to an appointment, then drop the child off at a neighboring private daycare facility where her sibling had been dropped off earlier that day. He drove the grandmother to her appointment in the Toyota and forgot to drop the child off at daycare. The father returned to the residence and parked the Toyota. Later in the afternoon he left the residence to run some errands and pick the grandmother up from her appointment. He decided to take a different vehicle, an Acura. He picked up the grandmother and returned to his residence. Approximately 4.5 hours after placing the child in the Toyota, the father drove the Toyota to the daycare to pick up his two children. The father was under the presumption that both children were at daycare. As he entered the residential daycare, he was told by the provider that only the 5-year-old was there. He immediately returned to the Toyota to find the child unresponsive, still secured in the CRS. EMS was notified and police, fire, and emergency medical personnel were dispatched. The child was transported by ambulance to a local level 1 trauma center. Her body temperature was recorded at 42.6 ºC (108.6 ºF). After extensive attempts to revive her, the child was pronounced deceased. The cause of death was hyperthermia.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Edition: Technical Report
  • Features: Figures; Photos; Tables;
  • Pagination: 17p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01838595
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: DOT HS 813 271, CR20021
  • Contract Numbers: 693JJ919C000004
  • Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Mar 15 2022 4:18PM