A 22-month-old girl died Friday afternoon after being left inside a hot car in New Jersey.
Milliani Robertson-Lawrence was found unresponsive inside the vehicle outside the PATCO High Speed Line in Lindenwold, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. The car's passenger window had been broken.
The girl's father, Nasir Lawrence, told KYW-TV he was devastated.
“Once I got the call, I thought it was a joke,” Lawrence said. “I pretty much broke down and lost my mind.”
Lawrence said that Milliani had been in the care of relatives while he was serving time in jail. He was trying to regain custody, he said.
“How do you forget that there’s a 2-year-old who makes a lot of noise in the car?” he asked. “... You killed my daughter. You took her from me.”
No charges have been filed and it's not clear how the girl ended up in the car or why the window was broken.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-676-8175 or email ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.
The majority of hot car deaths are accidental, according to NoHeatStroke.org. On average, 38 children a year die from heatstroke sustained from being left inside a vehicle. Last year was the deadliest on record, with 52 children dying inside hot cars.
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