Arkansas Toddler Found Dead In Hot Car, Younger Sister Hospitalized

A three-year-old Arkansas girl died and her baby sister was suffered injuries after the children were left in a hot car outside their mother’s home.

The dead child was discovered after their mother Kaylee Petchenik, 21, dialed 911 to report her children missing Monday. Arkansas state police said in a statement that the babies appeared to have been victims of heat while inside the vehicle. Both the girl and her 15-month-old sister were found unconscious on the car’s back floorboard, police said in a statement.

Petchenik said she awoke from her afternoon nap to find her children missing from her Booneville home. Laykn Petchenik was pronounced dead at a local hospital and her body was transferred to the State Crime Laboratory for autopsy. Her sister, Olivia Petchenik, remained hospitalized in stable but critical condition.

The findings of the investigation will be turned over to the Logan County prosecuting attorney who will decide whether to bring charges.

“I was sitting out of my porch around 11 o’clock and my neighbor Kaylee, the mom has came outside and looked concerned and worried and she came up to and asked if I had seen her kids," neighbor Matthew Wood told 5 News. "The mother works night shifts. She was asleep, she had laid down for a nap. She said she had locked her doors and when she woke up the door was open and the kids were gone."

Temperature that day surpassed 90 degrees in the area.

As many as 52 hot car child deaths were reported in 2019, with this year’s tally hitting 11 thus far. According to kidsandcars.org, an organization that seeks to prevent such tragedies by raising public awareness, even the best of parents and caregivers unknowingly leave children in hot cars, which can potentially lead to severe injury and even death. The organization warned of the temperature inside a car reaching as high as 125 degrees in minutes, and therefore requested parents or caregivers to check before they lock.

In April, an Arizona father was charged for leaving his 18-month-old toddler in a hot car which resulted in her death. The incident happened in May, 2019, and the toddler died after suffering severe dehydration and hyperthermia caused due to prolonged exposure to hot weather. The baby’s father, Ty Martin, 23, had parked the car outside a friend’s home to smoke marijuana.