Tragedy struck Seshego Hospital on Monday afternoon when a three-year-old girl was discovered dead inside a locked vehicle on the hospital grounds.
Limpopo police have opened a case of culpable homicide following the heartbreaking incident, which unfolded around 3:10pm, according to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba. Authorities were alerted after reports of a child left unattended in a parked car.
Officers arriving at the scene were directed to a blue Toyota Corolla Cross within the hospital yard, where the toddler was found in the back seat with the windows closed. ‘The child was pronounced dead at the scene,’ Ledwaba confirmed, adding that heat and oxygen deprivation are believed to have contributed to her death.
Initial investigations suggest the toddler’s mother, an employee of the hospital, allegedly left her daughter in the car around 7:00am while attending a handover session at the medical facility. The child reportedly remained in the vehicle for several hours before being discovered, as per African Insider.
Ledwaba explained, ‘It is believed she succumbed to the heat and lack of oxygen while locked inside the motor vehicle. Reports indicate a medical practitioner pronounced the child dead at the scene.’
A postmortem has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death, while police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the Seshego Hospital community, highlighting the devastating risks of leaving children unattended in vehicles, especially in high temperatures.
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