COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators are not filing charges at this time in the death of a child found inside a car on Tuesday night.
Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer held a news conference on Wednesday morning where he identified the child as a 2-year-old boy. Police did not release his name.
Police say there is no evidence that the child was left in the car.
Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell stopped by the family’s home on Wednesday. They were visibly emotional and didn’t want to go on camera, but remembered the child as a happy boy who was loved by everyone.
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“My only other message to the community right now is that we need some time to sort this out before we really know what happened,” VanHoozer said.
They say charges have not been filed, but did not comment on whether or not charges would be filed in the future.
Detectives think the boy could have been in the car for a couple of hours, but have no way of knowing how long he was inside.
How he managed to get into the car is still unclear.
“If I was in the position of this father, mother, sibling, friend I would want a lot of grace and a lot of support and that’s what I would ask our community,” VanHoozer said.
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Cobb police showed Newell just how hot cars can get in a matter of minutes. Within 10 minutes, a patrol car they used as an example was scorching hot.
“It’s actually 145.9 degrees, which is really hot,” they said.
Dr. Danny Branstetter, the Chief Medical Officer at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, says temperatures in cars can rise 20 degrees in as little as 10 minutes.
“Extremes of age more susceptible. Even younger, less than five is certainly different than if someone is a teenager,” Branstetter explained. “The important thing to note is it can happen quicker than we realize, so we want to avoid it at all costs.”
Investigators say the temperature at the time was well over 90 degrees, but they can’t comment on what the temperature would have been inside the car.
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