The Aubrey Police Department in Texas on June 22 announced the death of a 4-year-old boy two days after being airlifted to the Children’s Medical Center Dallas after he was found in a hot car, according to the police report.
It is unknown how long Kayson Neyland was in the car for, nor how he got in the car. A previous report indicates that Kayson had been found in the vehicle by his family members on June 20.
The evidence provided in the report was limited: “This remains an ongoing investigation involving multiple state and local agencies and further details about the incident are not available at this time,” reads the most recent statement from Chief of Police Charles Kreidler, adding that “any conclusions drawn at the [this] point are speculative and could be detrimental to our investigation.”
What is known is that officers received a call concerning the child a little before 5 p.m. Once authorities arrived, the child received medical attention but was unresponsive.
Paramedics then requested a helicopter for Kayson to be airlifted from Providence Village to the medical center. He was listed as “critical but stable condition” at the hospital before his passing, according to the police department.
The report from June 20 states that no criminal charges had been filed at that time, but the investigation remains open.
A Probable Consequence for Hot Car Deaths
There are many cases of parents being charged for leaving their children in a hot car, some of which were accidental, and other times intentional.
A mother in New Jersey has been charged with “second-degree endangering the welfare of a child” for leaving her toddler in a hot car for two hours, leading to his death, according to the New York Post. The charge against the 25-year-old was announced on June 17.
New Jersey mom charged in death of toddler left in hot car for hours https://t.co/eyGJUjVJCQ pic.twitter.com/ZEKNF1LN4E
— New York Post (@nypost) June 18, 2019
Kids and Cars, an organization founded to protect children from the dangers of motor vehicles, reports that from 1990 to 2018, a little over half of hot car deaths were the result of the person responsible unknowingly leaving them in the vehicle.
“In an overwhelming majority of child vehicular heatstroke deaths, it was a loving, responsible parent that unknowingly left the child,” states a fact sheet from the organization.
Even 6th graders understand the importance of technology to help to prevent these deaths. Plz take a moment to vote for the “HOT CARS” 6th grade team by 8 pm tonight! #heatstrokekills https://t.co/zzpPlzni9f pic.twitter.com/EiIka7Ueqf
— KidsAndCars.org (@KidsAndCars) June 20, 2019
The fact sheet also indicates that 13 percent of children who died from a vehicular heatstroke were left knowingly.
Manslaughter for Daughter’s Death
In March, The Telegraph reported on Cassie Barker, a former Mississippi police officer that left her three-year-old daughter in the back seat of her car while she left to have sexual relations with her then-supervisor.
According to the newspaper, it is unknown whether Barker left her daughter in the vehicle intentionally, but it was noted that the car and its “nonfunctioning air conditioning” were left turned on.
The 3-year-old was left in the car for four hours in 2016, before being found unresponsive by her mother. Barker pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March of this year and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The fact sheet from Kids and Cars contains information on causes and tips for preventing hot car deaths, including one simple tip found at the top of every page: “LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK.”
Always look before you lock to ensure no child is left behind in a car. pic.twitter.com/fxs4jqtxY2
— KidsAndCars.org (@KidsAndCars) August 1, 2017
