Baby Died In Overheated Mini-Van After Dad Forgot She Was There

Baby Died In Overheated Mini-Van After Dad Forgot She Was There

A five-month-old baby girl died after she was left alone in a hot mini-van for four hours – because her dad forgot she was there.

According to police, Andrew Sandstrom, 24, drove his 27-year-old wife, Shayna, to work and took the couple's six children all under the age of seven, along for the ride.

He later returned home and unloaded his brood but it wasn't until four hours later that the dad realised his baby was still in the mini-van.

Police were called and when they arrived on the scene, they saw Mr Sandstrom holding his unresponsive baby in his arms.

Medics tried to revive the baby, called Christiana, but she was pronounced dead.

Police Lt. Chris Carey said it appeared that the child's death was accidental. It's not known if the windows in the minivan had been opened.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in Moorhead of Minnesota were around 27C for most of Tuesday afternoon.

The baby's body will be sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

The tragedy happened a week after we reported that eight children in the U.S. had died in overheated cars.

Five other young kids were discovered inside the Sandstroms' apartment, which has been described by police as extremely filthy and unsafe for children.

Clay County Social Services removed the couple's remaining kids from the home and placed them elsewhere.

Police say the parents will be investigated in connection to possible allegations of child neglect.

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