SHIPROCK— Child-safety locks might have led to the death of a 4-year-old child by preventing her from escaping a locked car parked at a home west of Shiprock, authorities said.

Krystin Orah Jim, 4, of Shiprock died Saturday in the back seat of her family's car near the Gadiiahi Chapter.

"The preliminary information we got is the child apparently suffocated in the rear seat of the vehicle," Navajo Police Lt. Clarence Bilagody said Tuesday. "All the doors and windows were locked."

The child-safety locks could have prevented her escape, he said.

"It's a tragic incident," Bilagody said. "There's a lot of grief."

The girl's family could not account for her from 2 to 8:30 p.m., according to a police report.

The family called for an ambulance after discovering her inside the vehicle, and met it halfway between Gadiiahi and the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock.

"She was already dead" when she arrived at the hospital, Bilagody said.

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/203502nm07-29-04.htm