NEED TO KNOW
- A 1-year-old boy died in a hot car in Bakersfield, Calif. after he and his brother were allegedly left in the vehicle while their mom went to get a cosmetic procedure, according to reports
- The boy’s 2-year-old brother survived with a body temperature of 99 degrees
- Their mother Maya Hernandez has been arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty, per ABC7 Eyewitness News
A 1-year-old died after allegedly being left in a hot car while his mom went to get a cosmetic procedure.
Amillio Gutierrez and his 2-year-old brother were allegedly left strapped in their car seats in Bakersfield, Calif. on June 29 while their mother, Maya Hernandez, 20, visited a med spa.
The 2-year-old survived with a body temperature of 99 degrees, but Amillio died after being hospitalized with a body temperature of 107 degrees, ABC7 Eyewitness News reported.
“They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn’t even get up to save themselves,” the boys’ grandmother Katie Martinez alleged to the outlet. “She literally locked them in their car seats and shut their doors.”
The children were allegedly left in the hot car for two hours, according to court documents obtained by local media outlet 23 ABC News. The treatment Hernandez received allegedly only took 15 to 20 minutes, but the children were left in the hot car for far longer. Crime scene unit personnel were seen on the corner of Stockdale and S Real Road on July 2 taping off a section of a parking lot.
The air conditioning in the 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid car was set to 60 degrees, according to the outlet, citing a police offense report.
Related Stories
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/police-save-baby-from-hot-car-62625-981a5f66952a402186e896ae61ffc226.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Laura-Beck-people-3589019fd246474eafecb5b08a6fee85.jpg)
Prior to her appointment, Hernandez messaged spa personnel asking if she could bring her children inside, receiving a response, “Sure if you don’t mind them waiting in the waiting room hun,” according to the police offense report.
“In a normal person, it’s not gonna happen,” Gricelda Anaya, who works next door to the med spa, told local NBC affiliate KGET. “What we see on the camera is that they’re trying to put cold water right here on the reception, and it was something very sad that never had to happen.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
According to court documents obtained by KGET, Hernandez allegedly had a run-in with Child Protective Services in March 2024 for emotional abuse, but it was deemed unfounded.
Hernandez has been arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty, per ABC7 Eyewitness News. She is being held on more than $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, July 11, for a pre-preliminary hearing.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Bakersfield Police Department for comment.
Read the full article here