Authorities are investigating a hot car death in the Galena Park area after they say a girl was left in a vehicle on Tuesday.
It happened in the gated employee parking lot of USG, a large manufacturer of industrial and building products, including the ubiquitous Sheetrock.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says the mother had come to work her 6 a.m. shift at the USG office in the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road. Gonzalez said for whatever reason, the mother brought her 9-year-old daughter to the job.
During an evening press conference, Gonzalez said the child’s mother left the girl with some water and windows partially down, sunshades up, and went to work.
Gonzalez said the girl was likely in the car until 2 p.m., when the mom’s work shift ended. He says the mom returned to the car, found her daughter unresponsive, and called first responders.
“I don’t know if anyone checked on the child throughout the day,” Sheriff Gonzalez said, adding that authorities were contacted at 2:06 p.m.
The sheriff confirmed the mom was detained as a result, with likely pending charges.
“You can be sympathetic to her situation,” Gonzalez said, adding investigators do not know if childcare or other family issues prevented the mother from leaving the child with a caregiver. “It’s never acceptable to leave a child in the car.”
