Toddler dies after being left in sweltering car by doctor mother who forgot to drop him off at day care

A toddler died after he was left in the back seat of a sweltering car all morning while his gynaecologist mother went to work.

Dr Cynthia Galinaltis left her 21-month-old son strapped in a child seat for hours while she went to work at a medical office in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico.



She apparently forgot to drop the boy off at nursery and found him in the car in the mid-afternoon, according to police in the U.S. Caribbean territory.

The toddler was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead.

Authorities did not say if the mother would face charges. A phone call to Dr Galinaltis's office went unanswered.

The boy was left in the car park of the busy shopping centre, where Dr Galinaltis has an office, last week.

Such deaths have risen since the Nineties, when a change in U.S. laws required that small children be strapped into rear-facing child seats in the back of vehicles to avoid air-bag injuries, according to Kansas-based organization Kids and Cars.

Experts say leaving a child in a hot car is not always a sign of negligence, but is often the tragic result of a distracted or sleep-deprived brain, or a sudden change in routine.

The Famous Grouse wrote:

Experts say leaving a child in a hot car is not always a sign of negligence, but is often the tragic result of a distracted or sleep-deprived brain, or a sudden change in routine.