Boy, 5, dies in hot car after being left by his mother for up to 3 hours to prepare a party

A five-year-old boy was mistakenly left in a car in Texas by his mother, who thought he had gotten himself out while she went on to prepare for his sister’s birthday party, it is claimed

A five-year-old boy died in a hot car after being accidentally abandoned by his mother for up to three hours, sources say.

The mother had rushed home while preparing for the birthday party of another child, an eight-year-old girl, and is said not to have noticed that the boy was still in the car on Monday afternoon.

It was only after two or three hours that she noticed the disappearance of the five-year-old and made the tragic discovery of the boy in the car, the Texas police said.

She had thought the boy was in the house, but after searching there, she then went to the car at her home in Harris County, northeast Houston.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed the child died after being left there for “several hours.”

He said officers went to the scene on Blair Hill Lane just after 3pm and that an investigation had now been launched.

Sheriff Gonzalez tweeted : “Pct 3 units have been sent to the 13700 block of Blair Hill Ln. Upon arrival, units found a child (possibly aged 5) left in a vehicle for several hours. The child was pronounced dead at the scene. HCSO investigators are on their way to the crime scene.”

Police said the mother took her two children to a store to buy items for a birthday party.

And when they returned home, the mother and daughter were out, but the boy remained strapped to his seat, Sheriff Gonzalez said.

He said at a police conference: ” Mom went inside, the other sibling was also inside, after a few hours, maybe two or three hours, Mom noticed the other child was nowhere to be found, started calling for him, no answer, she desperately ran outside and found the kid still strapped in.”

The mother told investigators the five-year-old knew how to unbuckle himself and get out of a car – which is why she assumed he went inside.

The sheriff added that the car, which pictures show was a Porsche, was on loan and the boy may not have been familiar with the lock, which could have led to the tragedy.

It is currently unclear if the unnamed woman will be charged with the death.