Baby dies after California mom leaves him in car to get lip filler on 101-degree day, police say
Bakersfield Police criticized Maya Hernandez for 'placing the value of her appearance over the safety and well-being of her children' in a report filed in Kern County Superior Court.
It is estimated that Hernandez's children were in the vehicle without air-conditioning for 90 minutes, wrote Det. Kyle McNabb, noting that the internal temperature of a car can rise to a blistering 143 degrees in just one hour of 100-degree weather.
Hernandez told police she found her baby foaming at the mouth and having an apparent seizure after emerging from her procedure at Always Beautiful Medical Spa, according to the police report. She frantically dialed 911, and both her children were transported to a hospital for treatment.
By the time her 1-year-old arrived at Adventist Health hospital, he wasn't breathing, had no pulse, his blue lips were blue, and he had an internal body temperature of 107.2 degrees, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead around an hour after the 911 call and identified as Amillio Gutierrez by the Kern County coroner's office.
Hernandez's 2-year-old child recovered from the ordeal and has since been placed in protective custody, according to the police report.
Now the 20-year-old mother has been charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter and two felony counts of willful cruelty to a child, according to court records.
The tragedy unfolded on June 29 in a parking lot at 31 S. Real Road in Bakersfield.
Hernandez told police she left her children in the car with the engine on and the air conditioning running at around 2 p.m. She said she was certain the air conditioning would remain on the entire time she was in the medical spa as she had been in her car for extended periods of time before.
However, her 2022 Toyota Corolla Hybrid is equipped with an automatic feature that turns the engine off if it has been left running for one hour while in park, police said. Police estimate that the engine turned off around 3 p.m. and the children were left without air conditioning until Hernandez returned around 4:30 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Hernandez had texted the nurse performing her treatment to ask whether she could bring her children, to which the nurse responded, 'Sure if you don't mind them waiting in the waiting room,' according to the police report.
But Hernandez told police she chose to leave them in the car because she was concerned about the length of time it would take for her procedure, according to the report.
Hernandez called 911 at 4:41 p.m. after discovering her baby red in the face in the car.
When police arrived, they found Hernandez and her two children in the car. The AC was running, but the interior air temperature still felt warm, according to the police report.
'Hernandez admitted that she knew her actions were irresponsible and that she considered that when she was getting out of the car, but she left them in the vehicle regardless,' wrote McNabb. 'It is commonly known that leaving a one-year-old and two-year-old unattended in a vehicle in extreme weather is dangerous and can result in death.'
Hernandez's 2-year-old was admitted to Adventist Health hospital with a 99-degree temperature and was able to eat and drink fluids after the initial health assessment. The hospital nurse told police that children 2 and older are better able to regulate internal body temperature than babies, who do not have fully developed sweat glands, according to the police report.
Hernandez was reported to Child Protective Services for alleged emotional abuse of one of her children last March, but that report was deemed unfounded, police said.
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Hernandez said he and others are still working through the psychological effects of their time in CECOT. 'All 252 [of the men] are doing poorly, mentally.' 'Even though we are free, even though we are now with our families, happy and content,' he said, 'there is still a big mental block, a block that particularly I have not been able to find a way to deal with.' But despite their ongoing struggles, Hernandez said the shared experience has created a lasting sense of community among the men. 'We entered [CECOT] as 252 strangers, 252 Venezuelans, but 252 brothers came out,' Hernandez said. 'We all supported each other; we were all there in the constant fight.'
