Police in the Greater Toronto Area are investigating the death of a three-year-old boy who was found inside a vehicle on a hot day.
The toddler was found without vital signs inside a Ford Escape in Burlington, Ont., about 57 kilometres southwest of Toronto, on Wednesday evening, Halton Regional Police said.
Shortly thereafter, the toddler was pronounced dead by paramedics.
Temperatures in the region reached the high 20s, and a defibrillator was seen on the ground outside the SUV. However, Halton Regional Police Inspector Anthony Odoardi would not comment on the nature of the child’s death other than to say that officers are investigating.
“It would be completely improper for me to speculate on the circumstances at this point,” he said, adding that he expects police to release more information soon.
Odoardi said police received a call from a “hysterical” man around 5:30 p.m. saying that a child was found inside the vehicle not breathing.
Officers and paramedics were on the scene moments later, Odoardi said. By that point, the child was outside the vehicle, but it was too late.
The parking lot has been cordoned off by yellow police tape. Odoardi said investigators from the Criminal Investigations Bureau and Regional Investigative Service are probing the circumstances of the boy’s death, and a coroner was called to the scene.
Police have not released the child’s identity, and they are still working to identify members of the child’s family. Odoardi would not say if the child is from Burlington.
Police have not said if anyone has been arrested or charged in connection with the death.
Odoardi said the police force is “saddened” by the boy’s death and extended his deepest condolences to the child’s family.
The child’s body is being transported to Toronto, where an autopsy will take place.
