An Illinois woman was arrested this week after a nearly four month investigation into the death of her 13-month-old baby girl.
A 24-year-old, Quvonnay Collins, took a toddler to Carle Bromenn Medical Center on August 25 around 1 a.m., but the child showed no signs of life upon arrival.
After an autopsy the following day, it was revealed that the cause of death for the girl was “hyperthermia due to environmental heat exposure.” Investigators concluded that she had been left alone in a vehicle for a prolonged period.
Collins was apprehended on Wednesday and is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter of a family member, obstructing justice, tampering with evidence, and putting a child’s life in danger resulting in death.
Associate Judge Brian Goldrick on Friday released Collins from jail pending trial but ordered her not to leave Illinois or provide care for any child under 18, WEEK reported. Her arraignment is scheduled for January 10.
Agencies that monitor hot car deaths have not updated their statistics since last month, but this death would appear to be the 40th such death in the United States this year, the most since 2017 and 2018 when 53 children died in hot cars.
