Mom arrested in heat-related death of 6-month infant

DAVID L. TEIBEL
Tucson Citizen
June 30, 2003

Tucson police answering a 911 call Sunday found a 6-month-old girl in a parked car dead of apparent heat stroke.

Police arrested Dalina Gutierrez, 21, of the 4000 block of East 25th Street, in the death of her daughter, Alejandra Gutierrez.

Dalina Gutierrez was booked into the Pima County Jail on suspicion of child abuse, said Sgt. Judy Altieri, a police spokeswoman. Gutierrez was being held without bail pending an initial court appearance Monday afternoon in the case, Altieri said.

A jail records clerk said Gutierrez did not list an occupation when she was booked.

Altieri said Gutierrez had been out early Sunday morning and had picked up her three children, a 6-year-old, a 3-year-old girl and Alejandra, about 5 a.m. from Gutierrez' mother's house. The 6-year-old's gender was not available.

Altieri would not comment on where Gutierrez had been before going to her mother's house.

Gutierrez drove home, but when she arrived she left the infant in the car, Altieri said.

The child was not found until about 10:30 a.m., she said.

Gutierrez told detectives she forgot the child was in the car, went into her home and went to sleep, Altieri said.

Gutierrez also told detectives when she woke up she remembered her daughter was in the car, went outside and found Alejandra "in obvious distress," Altieri said.

Officers found the child in the car after two calls came in, police said.

Alejandra was taken to Tucson Medical Center, but was dead on arrival, Altieri said. She said medical authorities told officers it appeared to be a heat-related death. An autopsy was being done this morning.

At 10 a.m. Sunday the temperature was 92 degrees and 96 degrees at 10:30 a.m.

Greg Mollere, a National Weather Service meteorologist, estimated that at that temperature a closed car would get above 110 degrees within about 15 to 20 minutes. At the height of the day, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, he said, the interior of a car probably would quickly hit 130 degrees.

The first call police got from the area of the 4000 block of East 25th Street, where Alejandra was found, was a 911 hang-up call, in which some one called the emergency number, but hung up before providing a detailed reason for the call, officers said.

The second call was from a woman who screamed for help, officers said.

Officers were sent to the area on a "check welfare call" to try to determine what was wrong in the area and they found the dead child, police said.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/6_30_03dead_child.html

Baby left in car dies; mother arrested

A. E. Araiza / Staff

Searching for comfort: Eileen Rea, 20, went to the home of childhood friend Dalina Gutierrez, 21, who was charged with felony child abuse Monday. Gutierrez's infant daughter died after being left in a car.

Police say child was in vehicle for at least 5 hours

By Michael Marizco
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

A Tucson woman was ordered jailed on a $1 million bond Monday after police said her infant daughter died when she was forgotten in a car for several hours.

Dalina Gutierrez, 21, of the 4000 block of East 25th Street, was arrested Sunday night on a felony charge of child abuse. She remained at the Pima County jail Monday night.

Gutierrez picked up two of her three children from a relative's home about 5 a.m. Sunday. She took the 3-year-old inside but left 6-month-old Alejandra in the car and then fell asleep for at least five hours, said Sgt. Judy Altieri, a Tucson police spokeswoman.

When Gutierrez awoke about 10:30 a.m., she realized Alejandra was still in the car. She tried unsuccessfully to call 911 from her cell phone before calling for help from a pay phone nearby.

The infant had no pulse when paramedics arrived, and they were unable to revive her, said Deputy Chief Randy Ogden of the Tucson Fire Department.

Alejandra was pronounced dead at Tucson Medical Center.

Gutierrez was arrested Sunday night.

An autopsy Monday morning failed to immediately determine a cause of death, Altieri said.

The city's temperature was 92 degrees by 10 a.m. Sunday, climbing to 96 degrees an hour later, according to the National Weather Service in Tucson.

At those temperatures it would take about 20 minutes for the heat in a car to rise to 125 degrees. Within 40 minutes, the temperature inside the car can get as hot as 150 degrees, said Dr. Andreas Theodorou, a pediatric intensive care physician at two Tucson hospitals.

Theodorou said even in 60-70 degree weather cars can heat to a dangerous level. "But Tucson weather in the summer? In 20 minutes, you'll hit critical temperatures."

He said immediate medical attention needs to be provided any time a child is left unattended in a car for a period of time. "It's not something you're going to be able to manage alone at home," he said.

Neighbors of Gutierrez, who lives near East 22nd Street and South Columbus Boulevard, were shocked to hear of the baby's death.

Darek Anderson has five children, including two he and his wife adopted when his sister-in-law was killed in a car crash.

"This is just horrible. I couldn't imagine leaving your kid in the car," Anderson said. "We count to five like 30 times a day. We're always counting our kids."

Ismael Lopez said he could not understand how a mother could forget her baby. "How can you forget your kid?" he asked.

Eileen Rea, 20, who grew up with Gutierrez, said the death was accidental.

"She was always there for her kids," said Rea, who went to Gutierrez's apartment after hearing news reports about Alejandra's death.

"I don't know what they're going to do to her," she said. "But I want to be there, be strong for her."

In 2002, 30 children in the U.S. died after being left alone in cars.

In 2001, there were 34 such deaths, said Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars, a nonprofit child safety group in San Francisco.

In Arizona, at least eight children have died since 1994 from being left alone in hot cars. Alejandra's death is the first in Arizona and the 10th in the nation this year.

* Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.

http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/30701BABYDEATH.html