9-Year-Old Girl Dies After Being Left in Hot Car for 8 Hours in Galena Park

A 9-year-old girl died Tuesday afternoon, July 1, 2025, after being left inside a parked vehicle for approximately eight hours outside an industrial complex in the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the child was discovered unresponsive around 2:00 p.m. and CPR was initiated. She was transported to LBJ Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the girl’s mother, a 36-year-old employee at the complex, had arrived for work around 6:00 a.m. and left her daughter inside a white Toyota Camry with some water and the windows partially down. Temperatures reached 97 degrees in the area Tuesday, and authorities noted that children’s body temperatures rise significantly faster than adults’.

The vehicle was reportedly backed into a parking spot with a sun visor placed in the windshield, limiting visibility into the car.

Homicide investigators and crime scene personnel responded to the location. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez addressed the media, calling the incident a tragic accident and emphasizing the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.

The child may have had special needs, but Sheriff Gonzalez stated that detail had not been confirmed. The mother has been detained and is cooperating with detectives. No criminal charges have been announced at this time. The investigation remains ongoing.