It doesn't take very long for lives to change forever. What you've spent years of your life working towards can be undone in an instant. And it can happen to anyone.
That said, losing your family's future — losing your baby daughter — over a neglectful and self-indulgent experience is downright awful.
Two men have been charged in connection with the death of an 18-month-old girl in Arizona in what police have called "tragic for everyone involved, and completely avoidable."
Police initially responded to a call about an unresponsive child, and they started performing CPR until the fire department arrived and took over. Unfortunately, the infant could not be revived, even after being taken to hospital.
According to a LHCPD press release, Martin, 23, wasn't gone for very long, leaving "his infant daughter unattended in his car for approximately 45 minutes to an hour while visiting his friend, 23-year-old Noah Grabowski." During that time, the pair were reportedly hanging out, smoking marijuana and playing video games.
He faces charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana, as well as possession of drug paraphernalia.
"The Lake Havasu City Police Department would like to remind everyone that it is never acceptable to leave a child unattended inside of a motor vehicle. Inside temperatures can spike rapidly, even with the air conditioner running."
According to kidsandcars.org, preventive measures like cracking a window don't work. A fact sheet notes that "Even with the windows cracked, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in minutes," and "80% of the increase in temperature happens in the first 10 minutes."
In fact, a child's body temperature can rise three-to-five times faster than an adult's. Given how easy it is to want to let a child asleep in a car seat keep sleeping, or how easy it is to even forget a child is there when they're peacefully slumbering, it's important to stay vigilant.
"Children have died from heat stroke in cars in temps as low as 60 degrees," according to kidsandcars.org, and it can happen to anyone, whether they're smoking weed with friends or just tired and worn out loving parents.
Sometimes it's a matter of miscommunication between parents, each thinking the other one has gotten the child out, or glancing at a rear-facing car seat and thinking it's empty when it's occupied.
"Tragically, these parents report that they had pictures of their child on their desks, they talked about their child, and even left work on time to pick up their child from daycare."
