Halton Regional Police say an autopsy confirms a two-year-old boy died Wednesday after he spent “an extended period of time” alone in a hot car in Milton.
Police said the toddler was in the care of his maternal grandmother, who is in her 50s, when he was left in the car on a day when the temperature hovered around 30 C and humidex values soared to almost 40.
At the time, the boy’s father was at work and his mother was at an appointment, police said in a news release Thursday.
The child’s five-year-old sister was at school, and she remains in the care of her parents, police said.
It is not known exactly how long the boy was left unattended before his body was found inside the car, which was parked behind his family’s Jempson Path home, near Derry and Tremaine roads.
Neighbours say they were alerted at about 5:30 p.m. when they heard a man frantically screaming for someone to call 911.
Investigators are still canvassing the neighbourhood and interviewing potential witnesses to determine the sequence of events.
The autopsy was completed Thursday, but police say further toxicology tests are being conducted.
Homicide detectives are investigating the boy’s death, which is standard protocol. Halton Regional Police said its homicide unit is mandated to investigate the death of any child under the age of five, regardless of the cause.
No one has been charged.
According to police, research shows that a vehicle’s interior heats up very quickly with the majority of the temperature increase taking place in the first 15 to 30 minutes.
The safety advocates behind the U.S.-based website Kidsandcars.org has reported 15 similar car-related heat deaths involving children in the U.S. this year, police say.
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