Texas father arrested after 6-month-old daughter dies in hot auto

A source close to the family told CBS11 that Thedford dropped off two children at daycare, but left the baby in the vehicle.

“It’s hard to believe, because how can you forget a child in your own auto?” said Fabiola Contreras, who saw Thedford and his wife sobbing in the driveway as EMTs took the baby away. He went inside to take a nap, forgetting the youngest child was still in the vehicle.

She was in the van for at least three hours before he awoke and found her.

Capt. Jim Moody of the Collin County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to the family home in Melissa, about 40 miles north of Dallas.

Contreras watched the deputies and paramedics arriving at the house.

Fabiola Contreras, who lives across the street from the Thedford family, was shocked that someone would forget a baby, especially given the hot Texas heat. “It’s your child. It’s really hot especially if you’re in a vehicle, it’s way hotter”.

Contreras told the CBS affiliate: ‘They were asking the mother a few questions and she looked like she was crying. However, after some time, she said, Thedford “was walking outside with handcuffs”. “I just saw them rush into the house”. “It’s your child”, she said.

While the cause of death is now under investigation, it has not been made clear how long the child was in the vehicle.

Thedford was booked into the Collin County Jail and posted $20,000 bond late Tuesday.

According to the Department of Meteorology & Climate Science at San Jose University, a total of 16 children already died from heatstroke while in a auto, in 2016 alone, making the 6-month-old girl the 17th child to die in a vehicle this year. Last year, the same number stood at less than half.