Death of 2-year-old girl left in car near Torrance under investigation

An investigation continued Monday into the death of a 2-year-old girl who may have been left inside a hot car for as long as five hours.

Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Carson Station went to the 22400 block of South Vermont Avenue, in an unincorporated area of the county near Torrance, on Sept. 23 on a call of a “baby not breathing,” said Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez.

“When deputies arrived, they found a 2-year-old baby girl unresponsive,” Navarro-Suarez said. Paramedics took the girl to a hospital, where she died.

The coroner’s office identified the girl as June Love Augosto, but relatives said the girl’s last name is actually spelled Agosto.

“The 34-year-old mother, who was at the location, was interviewed along with several witnesses,” Navarro-Suarez said. “It is unknown if drugs and/or alcohol were involved.”

Coroner’s officials said an autopsy was performed on the girl, but a cause of death was deferred pending further tests. No arrests have been made.

According to a coroner’s report cited by multiple media outlets, the girl’s mother may have left the girl inside a hot car while she sat in another nearby vehicle drinking with a friend. The woman said she had put the girl in the car with a blanket and the heat turned on to ensure she didn’t get cold, according to the report. She fell asleep in the other vehicle, and when she awoke about five hours later, she found the girl unresponsive, according to the report.

“Vomit was present on her shirt and the car seat,” the report states, according to KTLA-TV Channel 5. The mother placed the girl “on the grass and sprayed her with the water hose in an attempt to cool her down. The decedent was taken into the house and a call was placed to 911.”

Paramedics noted that the girl had apparent burns on her face, chest and arms, and her temperature was 107.5 degrees, the station reported.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.