A Texas man has been charged after his 3-month-old son reportedly died in a hot car on Saturday.
According to reports from KRGV, Ricardo Mata, aged 34, was supposedly taking care of his infant son who was later discovered unresponsive in a locked car in Mission. It was revealed that Mata admitted to placing his son in the back seat and then went inside to rest.
“He further stated that he had been drinking and forgot that the child was in the car,” Hidalgo County police wrote.
Mata is charged with injury to a child causing death.
Additionally, KRGV noted that Mata is also charged with murder related to a 2021 incident where a man was killed and another was injured during a shooting. The event, involving Mata along with five other men, allegedly took place at a Stripes store in Mission. Mata, who was released on bond earlier in 2023, is expected to attend a court hearing in July.
This incident marks the 12th hot car child fatality this year and the second such death in Texas within the past week. Data from No Heat Stroke indicates that 39 children lost their lives in hot cars in 2024.
[Feature Photo: Hidalgo County police]
