Boy, 3, Dies After Grandma Forgets He Was in Car

In yet another tragic hot car death, a 3-year-old boy died in the back of a hot SUV in Georgia after his grandmother forgot to take him out of the vehicle. Authorities say the grandmother had been out with Kendrick Engram Jr. and several other children and didn't take him out of his car seat when they returned to their Columbus home around 5:30pm on Sunday, WTVM reports. Their day out included a church service and a stop for food. At 8pm, the grandmother realized she hadn't seen Kendrick in a while and called his uncle, who had taken what he thought was an empty vehicle to go and buy ice cream.

The horrified uncle found that Kendrick was still in the third row of the SUV, authorities say. The boy was pronounced dead around 9pm. Temperatures hit the 90s that day and Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan determined that the boy died of asphyxiation after close to three hours in the vehicle, Fox reports. "There were signs that he had tried to climb out," the coroner tells WRBL. Police say it's not clear yet whether anybody will face charges in the death.

Kendrick was loved by his parents and six siblings and was "energetic, loving, and full of life," a GoFundMe fundraiser for funeral expenses says. According to SafeKids Columbus, Kendrick is the second child to die in a hot car in Georgia this year and the seventh nationwide. "If you’re an adult, be responsible,” the coroner says "The children are innocent. They can’t help themselves and when you have a child that puts the responsibility on you.” (Last week, a 5-year-old Texas boy died in a hot car while his mother was preparing his sister's birthday party.)