Parents Charged With Child Abuse After Baby Dies In Hot Car

Parents Charged With Child Abuse After Baby Dies In Hot Car

Two North Carolina parents were slapped with charges of child abuse and involuntary manslaughter after their infant died in a hot car last month.

Sherrie Tiesha Clay and Shakee Duquan Robinson were arrested Monday, according to CNN. They allegedly arrived at their Statesville home on July 27 and let several children out of their car, but left the 4-week-old baby inside for about two hours.

The victim's aunt found him and rushed him to the hospital, where he died. Investigators say the cause of death was hyperthermia, WBTV reports.

Robinson and Clay were held in Iredell County Jail on $200,000 bail each. Their remaining children were placed in temporary care.

Every summer in the U.S., there is a staggering number of children who die after being left in hot cars. The public safety awareness website Kids and Cars reports that an average of 38 children die from heat-related deaths inside vehicles. At least 21 children have died from heatstroke this year alone, and that number is bound to grow as we continue to write similar stories at press time.

The outrageous numbers have caused an outcry among parents. One dad in Raleigh, North Carolina recently locked himself in a hot car to prove that it's dangerous. Experts say it only takes 10 to 20 minutes for a car to heat up to deadly temperatures.

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