A 1-year-old boy has died after allegedly being left in a hot car for hours while his mother went into a California med spa for a beauty treatment.
Authorities say Amillio Gutierrez and his 2-year-old brother were strapped into their car seats in a parked Toyota Corolla on June 29 in Bakersfield while their mother, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez, went inside for a cosmetic procedure. By the time help arrived, Amillio’s body temperature had reached a deadly 107 degrees. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. His 2-year-old brother was also hospitalized, but survived with a body temperature of 99 degrees, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News.
“They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn’t even get up to save themselves,” the boys’ grandmother, Katie Martinez, told the outlet. “She literally locked them in their car seats and shut their doors.”
Court documents say the children were left in the hot car for about two hours—far longer than the estimated 15 to 20 minutes Hernandez reportedly spent getting her treatment. Surveillance video from the scene allegedly shows spa staff trying to revive one of the children with cold water, as crime scene investigators later taped off part of the parking lot.
Police say the air conditioning in the 2022 Toyota Corolla was set to 60 degrees, but it’s unclear whether it was actually running the entire time. Before her appointment, Hernandez had asked the med spa if she could bring her children inside. Staff reportedly replied that it would be fine if the kids waited in the lobby.
Local business owner Gricelda Anaya, who works next door, told reporters, “What we saw on the camera was just heartbreaking. They were trying to pour cold water on the child… it never should’ve happened.”
Court documents also reveal that Hernandez had previously come into contact with Child Protective Services in 2024 for emotional abuse, though that case was closed without action.
Hernandez has now been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty. She’s being held on more than $1 million bail and is due back in court on Friday, July 11, for a pre-preliminary hearing.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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