Toddler Dies After Power Window Rolled Up On Her While She's Playing Inside Car

A 2-year-old girl in Phoenix, Arizona, died after a car's power window rolled up on her while she was playing inside the parked vehicle, police said.

Officers of the Phoenix Police Department were responding to a report of a traffic collision near 37th and Lewis avenues at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday when they found Eimi Patlan-Garcia injured, NBC News reported, citing a statement released by the force.

"When officers arrived they learned this was not actually a traffic collision, but a juvenile girl had been injured while playing inside a parked vehicle at a residence," police said in the statement.

"The investigation showed the child was injured when one of the vehicle's power windows was rolled up on her," authorities explained.

Patlan-Garcia was taken by firefighters to a nearby hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead, the New York Post reported, citing Phoenix police.

The toddler's death was ruled an accident, according to a medical examiner's report. Her primary cause of death was asphyxia, the report said.

"There are no obvious signs of foul play at the time," police said.

Patlan-Garcia lived at the home where the accident occurred, and her parents cooperated with investigators, authorities noted.

A few children die every year in accidents involving power windows, according to Janette Fennell, president of nonprofit advocacy group Kids and Cars.

"People don't understand the power that these [windows] go up. It has between 30 to 40 pounds of force and it takes 22 pounds of force to break the trachea," Fennell, whose organization tracks child fatalities involving vehicles, was quoted as saying by CBS 5.

She warned parents not to let their children play in or around cars while unsupervised.

"The temperatures can rise and kids can die really quickly from the heat, but maybe what they aren't thinking about is the dangers of power windows, maybe they aren't thinking about kids knocking cars into gear or trunk entrapment," she added.

More than 65 children have been killed by power windows since 1990, data provided by Kids and Cars showed. "Untold numbers" of children mostly age 3 and younger, meanwhile, have suffered brain injuries and amputated fingers due to power windows, according to the group.