A North Carolina mother was taken into custody after her 5-month-old baby girl died in a hot car. The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office arrested Madison Cassidy Moore for felony involuntary manslaughter. Sheriff Darren Campbell said the baby was found deceased after being left inside a car for several hours parked outside a home on Old Mountain Road near Troutman. Moore was initially placed under a $75,000 bond.

This is the first hot car-related child death in the United States for 2021.

Authorities offer the following advice. As simple as some of these are, it could potentially save a little ones life:

Make sure your child is never left alone in a car:

• Place the child’s diaper bag or item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is with you.
• Make it a habit of opening the back door every time you park to ensure no one is left behind. To enforce this habit, place an item that you can’t start your day without in the back seat (employee badge, laptop, phone, handbag, etc.)
• Ask your childcare provider to call you right away if your child hasn’t arrived as scheduled.

Make sure children cannot get into a parked car:

• Keep vehicles locked at all times, especially in the garage or driveway. Ask neighbors and visitors to do the same.
• Never leave car keys within reach of children.
• Use childproofing knob covers and door alarms to prevent children from exiting your home unnoticed.
• Teach children to honk the horn or turn on hazard lights if they become stuck inside a car.
• If a child is missing, immediately check the inside, floorboards, and trunk of all vehicles in the area carefully, even if they’re locked.