During a record-breaking heat wave in Southern California, a mother’s 3-year-old daughter was discovered dead inside a hot automobile. The mother was taken into custody and charged.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday that Sandra Hernandez-Cazares, 42, of Anaheim, has been charged with one crime of involuntary manslaughter and one count of child abuse causing serious bodily injury.
Family members started looking for Hernandez-Cazares on September 6 after receiving a call from her son’s elementary school informing them that the 5-year-old child had not been picked up.
Her Ford Expedition SUV was parked outside when family members arrived at the woman’s Anaheim residence on the 1300 block of Fashion Lane. Authorities said that the mother and her 3-year-old daughter, Ily Ruiz, were discovered inside unconscious.
The toddler’s family broke the windows of the SUV and tried to revive her, but she was declared dead. The youngster was found inside the locked automobile in extremely cold temperatures, and doctors surmise that she had been deceased for several hours before that.
Although the formal autopsy report is still awaiting, authorities stated that the child’s preliminary cause of death was suspected to be complications from heat stroke.
Hernandez-Cazares was intoxicated, according to Anaheim Police, and passed out with a blood alcohol content that was over four times the permitted limit. There were also allegedly empty alcohol bottles discovered inside the vehicle.
Before she was placed under arrest, she was brought to the hospital for medical attention. According to investigators, the temperature outside was over 104 degrees at the time, and the inside of the car was even hotter.
Hernandez-Cazares is also the mother of two sons, ages 5 and 9, who were run over and killed in 2012 at a South Dakota campsite by an intoxicated motorist while they were sleeping in a tent.
Following the boys’ demise, the lady and her spouse, Juan Ruiz, advocated to the regional assembly for more severe consequences for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
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“The unimaginable pain of having your 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons killed by a drunk driver is something from which you can never recover,” O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated. “Anyone who has suffered such a devastating tragedy knows the ripple effects of grief may be able to be hidden, but the heartbreak of losing your children will never go away. A mother who was robbed of the chance to see two of her sons grow up because of the selfish decision of a stranger will have to live with the fact she will never get to see her little girl grow up because of the choices she made.”
Ily’s father, Juan Ruiz, lamented his daughter on social media on Sunday. His family has established a GoFundMe page to help with burial expenses and other charges.
Hernandez-Cazares is being kept in custody on a $150,000 bail. If found guilty of all charges, she may spend up to 12 years in prison.
Investigations into the incident are still ongoing. For further information, contact 714-765-1900. You can give anonymous tips to OC Crime Stoppers online at occrimestoppers.org or by calling 1-855-847-6227.
