New York, July 20: A 2-year-old boy and an 8-week-old girl died after being left in hot cars, marking the 11th and 12th hot car fatalities in the US this year. The incidents occurred in New York and New Jersey, respectively, amid a sweltering summer heat wave with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees.

In Lakewood Township, New Jersey, 28-year-old father Avraham Chaitovsky left his infant daughter in a vehicle for an “extended period of time” while he was inside the Kollel Cheshek Shlomo synagogue, reported New York Post. Officers responded to a report of a child in cardiac arrest near New Egypt Road around 1:45 p.m. Despite lifesaving efforts, the baby was pronounced dead on the scene. Chaitovsky was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and taken to the Ocean County Jail. Additional charges may be forthcoming, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. US Hot Car Death Case: Foster Mother Charged As Minor Boy Dies After She Leaves Him in Vehicle for 7 Hours.

Later that day, around 7 pm, officers in Monticello, New York, responded to a 911 call reporting a child in cardiac arrest inside a vehicle outside the Sleepy Hollow Apartment Complex. First responders were unable to revive the 2-year-old boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Sullivan County coroner. The duration the boy was left in the vehicle remains unclear. Monticello police are investigating the incident. Baby Girl Dies in Hot Car in US: 11-Month-Old Found Dead After Being Left in Four-Wheeler for Three Hours as Parents Go to Attend Church Service in Florida.

Monday’s tragedies follow a series of similar incidents, including a 5-year-old twin who died in Nebraska after being left in a car for seven hours, and a 2-year-old girl in Arizona left in a car for hours by her father, who was charged with murder. According to Kids and Car Safety, 29 children died from hot car-related deaths in 2023, and 36 in 2022, with an average of 38 deaths per year in the US.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2024 11:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).