California mom faces felony charges after 3-year-old daughter dies in hot car

A California toddler is dead, and her mother has been charged with two felonies after she was accused of leaving her in a hot vehicle.  

The 42-year-old mother from Anaheim, about 26 miles south of Los Angeles, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse causing great bodily injury after her 3-year-old daughter was found dead in her car as temperatures reached more than 104 degrees, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Tuesday.

Investigators said that the mother's blood alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit, .30, when she was taken to the hospital. She was found passed out in her vehicle along with her deceased toddler while her vehicle was parked near their apartment on Friday afternoon, the release said.  

On Friday, family members started looking for the mother after they were alerted by her 5-year-old son’s elementary school that “no one came to pick him up,” the release said.  

Authorities said that family members found the mother and her daughter unconscious inside of her white Ford Expedition. The vehicle had been parked in front of the apartment, where the three lived.  

Family members and paramedics tried to resuscitate the daughter, but she was pronounced dead, authorities said. Doctors said that she had been dead for several hours before she was discovered inside the locked car.

The woman's five-year-old son is currently being taken care of by relatives, authorities said.

Authorities said she could face a maximum sentence of 12 years, if convicted on all charges.

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Mom lost two sons after they were killed by a drunk driver 

Authorities said the woman was an advocate for stricter DUI laws after her two sons were killed in South Dakota by a drunk driver.

After the death of her 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons, the woman and her husband lobbied North Dakota legislature for stronger penalties for driving under the influence, the release said.  

“The unimaginable pain of having your 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons killed by a drunk driver is something from which you can never recover,” Todd Spitzer, the Orange County District Attorney, said in a release.  

“Anyone who has suffered such a devastating tragedy knows the ripple effects of grief may be able to be hidden, but the heartbreak of losing your children will never go away,” he said.  

Father shares tearful Facebook post after daughter's death

In a tearful Facebook post on Sept. 8, the father shared details about his daughter's death.  

“I wish I was making this up right,” he said. “But no man, my daughter really is dead due to the negligence of her mother.”  

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.