New court documents have shed light on the tragic death of a 1-year-old child in California, who was left inside a sweltering vehicle last month. Temperatures soared to 102 degrees on that fateful day.
ABC 30 reports that 20-year-old Maya Hernandez is facing charges for allegedly leaving her children, aged one and two, unattended in their car seats inside her vehicle. This occurred while she attended an appointment at the Always Beautiful Med Spa in Bakersfield on June 29 to undergo a lip injection.
Around 4:30 p.m., Hernandez reportedly returned to her 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid and found 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez in serious condition, foaming at the mouth. Meanwhile, a customer took the 2-year-old into a restroom and applied water to his face as first responders arrived at the scene.
Although the 2-year-old survived the incident, Amillio was pronounced dead after failed resuscitation attempts.
According to WKRN, Hernandez told police that she left children inside the vehicle with the air conditioner on, while an employee reportedly said the children could have stayed in the waiting room during the procedure.
“Sure if you don’t mind them waiting in the waiting room hun,” the employee said when Hernandez asked if she could bring her children with her, according to court documents.
A nurse at the spa said that Hernandez made no mention of the children being with her when she arrived.
A bystander who grabbed the 2-year-old from the car said that the air conditioning was not turned on. The vehicle’s manufacturer indicated that the air conditioner automatically turns off after an hour of inactivity, according to what an expert told Bakersfield police.
The lip procedure typically takes around 15 to 20 minutes, but police said Hernandez left the children in the car for nearly two hours, since the day in question at the spa had been unusually busy.
Police said Hernandez failed to check on the children the entire time.
On July 7, Hernandez pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and not guilty to two counts of willful cruelty to a child. She remains behind bars at the Kern County jail on a $1 million bond.
She’s due back in court on July 11.
[Feature Photo: Amillio Gutierrez/Facebook]
