Toddler dies after being left strapped in hot SUV; father arrested
DALLAS — A Texas father whose 2-year-old daughter died after she was left strapped in the back of an SUV as temperatures soared to 98 degrees Fahrenheit was arrested on Monday and charged with child abandonment, police said.
Hamuda Raufu, 40, said he dropped off his wife at home on July 17 after a day at Fair Park and assumed all five children had unbuckled their seat belts and exited the vehicle with her, Dallas police said.
Raufu then drove to an ATM to withdraw money with the girl still strapped into a car seat in the third row of his SUV, according to an arrest report.
He returned home and joined his family for a nap and the girl was in the vehicle for an hour, the report said. Raufu found her after he woke up to perform maintenance on the vehicle, the report said.
The girl’s mother rushed her to a Dallas hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Raufu’s bond was set at $5,000. An attorney for Raufu was not listed in Dallas County jail online records.