3-year-old girl dies after being left in hot car in Southern California
The lights of an ambulance are shown in a file photo. (Photo by Matt Jonas/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images)
VISALIA, Calif. - A 3-year-old girl has died after her mother left her in a car for several hours while she worked at a marijuana grow in the San Joaquin Valley, police said.
The doors were closed and its windows were up, and the outdoor temperature was about 100 degrees when emergency responders were dispatched to the parked vehicle on Thursday, the Visalia police department said in a statement.
Family members, as well as a police officer and paramedics tried to revive Jessica Campos, but she was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.
Detectives conducted interviews and learned that Eustajia Mojica Dominguez, 28, had been tending to an illegal marijuana grow while her child was in the car for up to 3 hours, police said.
They later searched Mojica Dominguez's house and found 125 pounds of marijuana plants and approximately 425 pounds of processed marijuana. Four other children, ages 15,11, and two that were 9 months old, living in the house were put into the custody of Child Welfare Services, police said.
Four adults inside the home were arrested and booked for investigation of child endangerment.
Mojica Dominguez was being held at the county jail for investigation of involuntary manslaughter. It's not immediately clear whether she has retained an attorney who can speak on her behalf.