4-Year-Old Girl Dies in Hot Car

Los Angeles police said a 4-year-old girl was found dead inside a parked vehicle in Valley Village on Tuesday afternoon, prompting a child abuse investigation. Firefighters were called just before 3:40 p.m. to the 12700 block of McCormick Street near Bluebell Avenue, according to local reports citing the Los Angeles Fire Department and police. The child was found unresponsive in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified her on Wednesday as Adina Nevo, 4, and said the cause of death was deferred. ### Where did investigators find the child? Valley Village was the scene of the emergency response Tuesday afternoon, with police and firefighters sent to a residential area near McCormick Street and Bluebell Avenue. Los Angeles police Capt. Warner Castillo said an unresponsive child was found inside a vehicle there, according to local television reports. The 12700 block of McCormick Street was where the Los Angeles Fire Department received the medical emergency call shortly before 3:40 p.m., CBS Los Angeles reported. Officers then opened a death investigation that police described as a child abuse case. ### Who was the girl? The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the child on Wednesday as Adina Nevo, a 4-year-old girl. The medical examiner’s case information listed her place of death as “vehicle” and said the cause of death had been deferred. Tarzana was listed by MyNewsLA as the girl’s home community, citing the medical examiner’s office. Police have not publicly released additional details about her family. ### What do police say happened before she was found? Los Angeles police have not publicly detailed the sequence of events that left the girl inside the vehicle. Officers have said only that the child was found in a parked car and that detectives are investigating. KTLA and other local outlets reported, citing neighbors, that the girl had apparently been part of a neighborhood carpool and was supposed to be dropped off at daycare. Those accounts have not been confirmed in a detailed public statement from police. ### Have police made any arrests? The Los Angeles Police Department said it had launched a child abuse investigation, but officers had not detained the parents as of Tuesday, according to CBS Los Angeles and other local reports. Police have also described the case in some broadcasts as a possible homicide investigation, a classification that can be used while detectives determine how a death occurred. No suspect had been publicly identified as of Wednesday, according to FOX 11 and ABC7 reports. Authorities have not said how long the girl may have been inside the vehicle. ### How hot was it in Los Angeles that day? Tuesday’s temperatures in the San Fernando Valley reached the upper 80s, according to ABC7. Fox Weather, citing National Weather Service data, reported temperatures reached 87 degrees in downtown Los Angeles. AccuWeather reported that the death was the third U.S. child hot-car death recorded this year, citing the safety group Kids and Car Safety. The group said about 40 children die in hot cars nationwide in an average year, according to that report. ### What happens next in the case? The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the cause of death remains pending, and that determination is likely to be a key next step in the investigation. Los Angeles police detectives are continuing the child abuse inquiry and have not announced charges. Any court filing or arrest announcement would be expected to appear through the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office or the Los Angeles County Superior Court as the case develops.