Year-old girl found dead in parked car

A 1-year-old girl, apparently left most of the day in a car parked in Fall River, was found dead yesterday afternoon, devastating the child's family, authorities said last night.

The girl, found sitting in her car seat about 4 p.m., was pronounced dead early yesterday evening at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, said Denise Monteiro, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services.

The girl's parents, whose names were not released, are from New Bedford, Monteiro said.

''Right now, it just looks like a tragic, tragic series of events," she said, adding that the exact cause of death was not known. ''The mother is totally distraught. She's beside herself."

According to Monteiro, the toddler routinely came home from day care on a bus with her two brothers, ages 6 and 7. When the children's grandmother met the bus yesterday afternoon to drive them home, she realized the girl was not there and immediately called the day-care center, which authorities would not identify.

The day-care center told the grandmother the infant had not arrived that morning and called the child's mother, who discovered her in the car, Monteiro said.

State and local police, the Department of Social Services, and the Bristol district attorney's office are investigating what happened to the girl, why she was left in the car, and what caused her death, authorities said. Investigators spoke with the girl's family last night, Monteiro said.

The family does not have a prior history with the Department of Social Services, Monteiro said.

State and Fall River police referred inquiries to the district attorney's office, which did not return calls last night.