Baby found in Lexington car likely there for an ‘extended’ time

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The boy, who would have turned 1 later this month, was found in his mother’s car in the parking lot outside his day care.

Investigators believe a baby boy found unresponsive in his mother’s car outside a Lexington day care Tuesday may have been in the vehicle for some time. 

The infant, who would have turned 1 on Aug. 31, “never entered the daycare on the day of his death” and “may have been in the car for an extended period of time,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Lexington Chief of Police Michael McLean said in a joint statement Thursday. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the boy’s cause and manner of death, they said. Authorities have not identified the child, though Lexington Fire Chief Derek Sencabaugh told WBZ the family is local. 

Lexington police previously said officers responded to a Massachusetts Avenue parking lot around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of an unresponsive infant inside a vehicle. The boy was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

The founder and principal of Sol Solecito day care, Nelly Mayorga, told Boston 25 News the infant attended the school but did not show up Tuesday. Per center policy, Sol Solecito took attendance by 8:45 a.m. and messaged the parents of children who were not present, Mayorga reportedly told Boston 25. 

She said they reached out to the boy’s mother around 9 a.m. but never heard back. When the mother arrived for pickup at 5:20 p.m. and learned her son wasn’t there, she ran out to her car and found the baby unresponsive, Boston 25 reported. Sol Solecito did not respond to Boston.com’s request for comment Friday morning. 

According to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, an average of 38 children die each year in the U.S. as a result of sitting in a hot car. The incident in Lexington would be the 22nd hot car death in 2024, by the organization’s count. 

“In an overwhelming majority of child hot car deaths, it was a loving, responsible parent that unknowingly left the child,” the Kids and Car Safety website states. “Approximately 43% of children who were unknowingly left were supposed to have been dropped off at childcare.”

According to Kids and Car Safety, a parent may unknowingly leave their child in a car when dealing with a change in daily routine, lack of sleep, stress, fatigue, and distractions. It can also be hard for drivers to spot children in rear-facing car seats, the organization notes.

Kids and Car Safety offers a list of tips for parents and caregivers, including keeping the child’s diaper bag in the front passenger seat as a visual cue, or placing a necessary item such as a cellphone, purse, or laptop in the back seat to necessitate opening the back doors.

The Lexington child’s death remains under investigation, Ryan and McLean said.

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