Mother charged after daughter dies of apparent heat exposure

BROWNSVILLE — A mother remains jailed on charges of abandoning or endangering a child after her daughter died at a local hospital from heat-related injuries over the weekend.

Felicitas Alexandra Cordova, 4, apparently fell asleep Sunday in the family’s Ford Expedition while it was parked at the flea market on Expressway 77/83, Brownsville police Lt. Orlando Rodriguez said.

First responders attempted to save the child, but she later died at a local hospital.

Her death from apparent heat exposure in a parked vehicle is this year’s first in Texas and 23rd in the nation, according to Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology and certified consulting meteorologist at San Francisco State University. He researches and tracks deaths of children left in hot vehicles.

In a matter of 10 minutes, the temperature inside a vehicle can increase by 19 degrees, which can “kill a small infant or child,” Null said in a telephone interview from San Francisco.

With an outside temperature of about 96 degrees Sunday, the temperature inside the car could have peaked at more than 140 degrees, Null said. A body temperature of 104 degrees or higher could lead to a heatstroke and other health complications.

Brownsville has logged three days with record high temperatures since July 1, according to Rob Hart, a meteorologist with the city’s National Weather Service Forecast Office. The temperature has reached 100 degrees twice during that period.

National statistics indicate more than 30 children have died from vehicle-related heatstroke each year over the past eight years. Last year, 43 children across the country died from heat exposure suffered in a hot vehicle, according to statistics compiled by Null.

Lowering or cracking a window to allow air to flow into a hot vehicle is not much help, Null said.

“A 127-degree temperature compared to 130 degrees” is not going to make a difference, he noted.

Felicitas’ mother, Olga Salazar, 37, has been arraigned on one count of abandoning or endangering a child, a felony punishable by a minimum of 180 days in a state jail and a possible fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction. She was being held Monday at a Cameron County jail in lieu of $20,000.

Salazar, a single mother and illegal immigrant, ran three booths at the flea market, said Rodriguez, the Brownsville police lieutenant. She and her children were tending the booths when the young girl disappeared.

“There was some confusion as to how it happened,” Rodriguez said, adding the mother seems of have just lost track of the child.

First responders and several others performed CPR on the girl at the flea market, but she died shortly thereafter at Valley Regional Medical Center, the lieutenant said.

Authorities estimate the temperature inside the vehicle was at least 100 degrees. It is not known how long the child had been in the SUV before she was found.

The family had arrived at the flea market about 7 a.m. Sunday, police said. It wasn’t until the afternoon that family members realized Felicitas was missing.

The girl had been going back and forth between Salazar and a 17-year-old sibling, police said. Each family member was under the impression that Felicitas was with the other.

Police are still trying to determine what prompted the young girl to open the door and get inside the vehicle.

“She went in there and went to sleep or was in there sleeping,” Rodriguez said. “She could have easily gone in there and lost consciousness (from) the heat, which is something that unfortunately happens.”

The family often left the doors to the vehicle unlocked and told police it was not uncommon for the children to get inside it to rest, Rodriguez said. They usually did so in the morning before the flea market opened.

The girl was found unresponsive inside the SUV shortly after 4 p.m., Rodriguez said. Police and emergency medical responders were dispatched to the flea market, where they tried to revive the child.

“There was a faint sign of life,” Rodriguez said. “However, they were not able to revive her and she died shortly thereafter.”

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

Although the girl’s death isn’t typical of such fatalities — the more common scenario is that a caregiver leaves a child unattended in a vehicle — it should dictate to parents that they need to keep an eye on their children at all times, Rodriguez said.

“The bottom line is that you always have to watch out for your children and always make sure they are accounted for,” he said. “In this case that is not what happened, and this is the end result.”

“We feel for the family for what they are going through, but our duty is to Felicitas Cordova and making sure that this case is (thoroughly investigated),” Rodriguez said.

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Laura B. Martinez is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.

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ON THE WEB:

Hyperthermia deaths of children in vehicles: http://ggweather.com/heat

NOT THE AREA’S FIRST

The death of 4-year-old Felicitas Alexandra Cordova is at least the second such fatality in the region in the past year.

Samuel James Hernandez, 7 months, died of heat exposure Oct. 10, 2008, after his father, Jaime Hernandez Jr., who was then 29, left him in a parked car for about seven hours at Edcouch-Elsa High School.

Hernandez, who was working as a teacher’s assistant at the Edcouch school, reportedly had forgotten to take the child to daycare before arriving for work about 8:30 a.m. that day.

The father faced a charge of criminally negligent homicide — a state jail felony — in connection with his son’s death, but a grand jury decided to drop the charge after Hernandez testified the death was an accident. He could have faced a jail term of up to two years and a fine of up $10,000 if convicted.

Source: Monitor archives