Coworkers Tried To Save Infant That Died In Hot Car, Report Says

EAST HANOVER, NJ — Livia Patelli, the mother of a six-month-old baby girl who died after being left in a hot vehicle, told investigators that she forgot to drop her child off at daycare in the morning before going to work, according to an affidavit of probable cause that was filed against Patelli.

After receiving a message from the daycare facility in the afternoon saying that her daughter was absent that day, Patelli went to her car. She stood there for a few moments, and walked away, according to the affidavit.

Coworkers from the South Ridgedale Ave. business where Patelli works tried to give aid to the infant before police arrived at the scene.

The complaint reports that Patelli did not make an effort to get into the vehicle or save her child. Security footage from the office building Patelli works at shows her making no attempt to open the vehicle's doors or save her daughter.

Patelli,33, told police she dropped her child off at daycare every day before work for the past two months. On July 17, she drove to work and did not realize her daughter was still in the vehicle with the windows rolled up.

Patelli was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

A 911 call was made to the East Hanover Police Department around 1:30 p.m.that reported an infant was left unattended in a hot vehicle.

Paramedics tried to save the baby, but she was pronounced dead at Morristown Medical Center. The infant's internal temperature was 109.9 Fahrenheit.

Police say that the infant was left unattended for around four and a half hours.

This is another reported case of a parent leaving their infant in a hot vehicle unattended. A father in Lakewood left his eight-week-old unattended in July, which killed her. Avraham S. Chaitovsky, 28, received charges of endangering the welfare of a child for the death of his daughter.