A couple have been left devastated after the miracle baby they conceived after six miscarriages died when her nanny left her in a boiling hot car.
Tammy Brooks, 40, was meant to drop the 2-year-old Zariah Hasheme off at daycare, but instead drove straight to work in the city of Hobbs, New Mexico, AP reports.
The child was left unattended in a car seat for hours until Brooks realised the child was still in the vehicle after running an errand.
Babysitter Tammy Brooks says she forgot to drop Zariah off at preschool on her way to work.
Rescue crews responded after receiving a 911 call around 1.30pm.
The child was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy will be conducted.
On that day, temperatures in Hobbs reached a high of 30C.
The 41-year-old Brooks is charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death. She is being held in the Hobbs City Jail pending arraignment. It was not immediately known if she had an attorney.
The girl's mother and father, Demi Petrowski and Zachary Hasheme, were together when they received the heartbreaking news.
"I heard Demi screaming on the other line saying that Zariah's dead, and I didn't know what to do," Hasheme said about the couple's only child.
The little girl's mother says she doesn't wish the pain of losing a child upon her worst enemies. Photo / GoFundMe
"I slammed on my brakes, pulled over.
"I mean, you can forget to bring a pen with you, but it's kind of hard … to forget about a kid in the car."
The pair suffered six miscarriages before Zariah was born.
"We just gave up," Hasheme said. "She popped up and blessed all our hearts."
Petrowski said she would not wish this pain and this hurt upon her worst enemy.
"Always look at the back seat of the car," Petrowski warns.
Her parents say they had given up hope of ever having children before Zariah was born.
"And if there is a child in there or you hear a child screaming, please just … help.
"As for daycare centres, if you know a child is not there at their appointed time, please contact the parents or someone on the emergency list right away."
A GoFundMe page set up by cousin Stephanie Wilkinson to help the family cover funeral costs has reached more than $4500.
"Baby Zariah was a beautiful sweet baby girl and we need help to have a funeral," Wilkinson wrote.
"Such an unfortunate sad time for our family."
LoveImAWreckHolyFuck on September 23rd, 2019 at 11:15 UTC »
For anyone who cares to have an extra reminder about having their children in the car, the navigation app Waze has this feature. You can adjust the settings to set a “child reminder” when you arrive at your destination it will pop up and you have to clear it for it to go away.
dregan on September 23rd, 2019 at 07:12 UTC »
Reading this made me wonder why some caretakers are charged with crimes in situations like this and others are not. I found this interesting read. Apparently there is little rhyme or reason to it.
Gristle__McThornbody on September 23rd, 2019 at 04:33 UTC »
That is some tough shit to deal with.