Anaheim mother arrested after death of 3-year-old daughter who was locked in hot car

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) — Police arrested an Anaheim woman whose 3-year-old daughter died after she was found unconscious in a hot car, officials said.

Sandra Hernandez, 41, was arrested on manslaughter and child neglect charges after her release from the hospital, Anaheim police Sergeant Matt Sutter said.

Anaheim Police and Fire Department personnel responded to a medical emergency in the 1300 block of North Fashion Lane around 4:20 p.m. Friday.

Hernandez and her daughter were in a Ford Expedition for an unknown amount of time, police said. A family member who found them locked in temperatures of about 40 degrees Celsius managed to free the girl from the car, police said.

Sergeant Matt Sutter of the Anaheim Police Department said several bottles of alcohol were found in the vehicle.

Paramedics took the girl to the hospital, where she later died.

According to Anaheim police, the preliminary cause of death for the girl was complications from heat stroke. An official autopsy report is still pending.

Hernandez was arrested after being questioned by police and undergoing medical examination at the hospital.

Family members identified the girl as Ily Ruiz. The girl's father, Juan Ruiz, is heartbroken over her death.

“Ily was his princess, his daughter. He loves his children. That's what he lives for,” Ruiz's cousin Nancy Salamanca told Eyewitness News.

Unfortunately, Ily's parents have experienced the pain of losing a child themselves.

In 2012, Ruiz's older sons – five-year-old Alaries and nine-year-old Cyris – were killed when a drunk driver ran over their tent during a camping trip in North Dakota.

“Knowing he's going through all this again, we just feel sorry for him,” Salamanca said. “He's devastated.”

“He has one more – one for himself, and that is his son Lazarus,” said Salamanca's husband Waleed Salimi. “So he will fight hard for his son because we are here to support him as a family.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.

City News Service contributed to this report.