KAILUA-KONA – A toddler remained hospitalized Monday on Oahu, a day after police say she was left unattended for nearly two hours inside a parked vehicle in Kailua Village.
The 2-year-old girl was last listed in critical condition at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, said Hawaii Island police Monday afternoon. Police did not provide an update on her status as of press time.
“Please, just help us pray, pray, pray, pray,” the sister of the child’s mother said on behalf of the family, which requested privacy during this time. “Nothing more but pray.”
The child was intubated and flown to the state’s only children’s hospital Sunday evening after she was found in an unattended vehicle in the Coconut Grove Marketplace parking lot.
Hawaii Fire Department rescue personnel responded to the parking lot shortly before 4 p.m., according to fire officials. When crews from the Kailua Fire Station arrived a short time later, they found the child was no longer alone in the vehicle and was being cooled by a fan.
By the time police officers made it to the scene, medics were already transporting the child, who was suffering from heat exhaustion, to Kona Community Hospital. Police said advanced life-saving protocols were initiated en route.
The child, police say, was inside the parked vehicle for nearly two hours before her family realized her whereabouts were unknown and tracked her down.
According to police, the father said the family was shopping earlier that day, and after he dropped them off at home, he headed to work. He did not realize his daughter was asleep in the vehicle when he went into work earlier in the afternoon.
When the family realized the girl was not at the house, the child’s aunt drove to the father’s place of employment and found the toddler in the vehicle, police said.
Police did not provide any additional details about the incident Monday.
No one has been arrested in connection with the incident, which is currently classified as a reckless endangerment investigation.
Heatstroke, which is typically preceded by heat exhaustion, is one of the leading causes of non-crash-related fatalities among children, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees and the thermoregulatory system is overwhelmed. A core body temperature of about 107 degrees is lethal.
According to the NHTSA, an outside temperature in the mid-60s can cause a vehicle’s inside temperature to heat to more than 110 degrees. The inside temperature of a car can increase almost 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes.
According to Weather Underground, the temperature was 74 degrees Sunday afternoon at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport, which is about 10 miles north of Kailua Village.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.
