Mother charged after 1-year-old dies from being in hot vehicle
Sumter County Coroner's Office has reported the preliminary cause of death of 1-year-old Mekhi Rembert was hyperthermia because of entrapment in a hot vehicle. Coroner Robert M. Baker Jr. said a toxicology report will take about six weeks to confirm the cause of death.
The child was found unresponsive Wednesday at Swan-Lake Iris Gardens and was transported to Palmetto Health Tuomey shortly after 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. Police escorted the ambulance and blocked traffic en route to the hospital. The entrance gate to the gardens were shut and secured.
Sumter Police Department later reported the child did not survive.
According to wunderground.com, the temperature in Sumter was in the mid-90s on Wednesday afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that even when it feels cool outside, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly. Leaving a window open is not enough, according to the CDC, as temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees within 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open. Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at great risk for heat stroke and possibly death, according to the CDC.
Although Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center's website shows the child's 24-year-old mother, Latisha Nichole Rembert, was arrested and charged with legal custodian, unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person, the police department has not confirmed the charges.
The Sumter Item will release new information as it is provided.