Mother arrested after 8-year-old dies from being left in hot car while she was at work

CHARLOTTE — A mother in Charlotte is facing felony charges after her 8-year-old daughter died Wednesday from being left in a hot car.

According to court records obtained by Channel 9 on Thursday, Ashlee Rochelle Stallings, 36, is in custody for charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse causing serious injury.

Court records say Stallings allegedly left the 8-year-old girl in a car “with outside temperatures reaching 94 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Court explains that the child suffered a brain injury as a result of hyperthermia.

According the statement given by Stallings, she left her child in the car while she was at work but said she left the air conditioning running and was communicating with her child.

She said she believed the child may have turned off the air conditioning because she was too cold.

She did admit she made a mistake and should not have left the child in the car with hot weather.

Court paperwork explains that Stallings returned to her vehicle after not hearing from the child for an hour and a half, broke the back window, and found the child unresponsive.

She then drove towards the hospital until she pulled over and called for help.

A source told Channel 9′s Glenn Counts that Stallings left the girl in her car for 3 ½ hours while she went to her job at Amazon.

According to a police report, first responders were called to Wilkinson Boulevard near Redbud Drive at about 6:30 p.m. to help the girl, who was in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest.

She later died at the hospital.

“We’ve seen the numbers increase and with things so hot, we’re very concerned this is going to be a tragic summer,” said Amber Rollins, the director of Kids and Car Safety.

The organization fights for awareness and added car safety measures to reduce those tragedies.

“When something like this happens, you can’t go backward and so the best thing we can do is raise awareness,” she said.

According to jail records, Stallings is being held in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center on a $250,000 bond.

Amazon released the following statement:

“This is an incredibly tragic incident. During this difficult time, we’re supporting our employees and have made counseling resources widely available. We’re also working closely with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as they investigate.”

This is a developing story, and Channel 9 is working on getting more details. Check back for updates.

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