4-year-old found dead in vehicle in Valley Village

LAPD is investigating the death of a 4-year-old girl found unresponsive inside a hot vehicle in Valley Village. Officers responded at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to a call in the 1200 block of McCormick Street. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics provided medical aid and pronounced the child dead at the scene. The LAPD Juvenile Division is handling the investigation, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner will determine the cause of death. Authorities have not released additional details. A law enforcement source said the case is being investigated as a suspected hot car death. A family source said the child was part of a neighborhood carpool and was found in the vehicle after her mother arrived to pick her up from preschool, with the reason she was left unclear. The carpool driver has not been arrested, and the driver’s attorney said the driver is distraught.

"LAPD Capt. Warner Castillo said officers responded at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to a call about an unresponsive child in the 1200 block of McCormick Street. He said Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were providing medical aid to the child when officers arrived. Paramedics pronounced the child dead at the scene."

"The LAPD's Juvenile Division is investigating the case, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner will determine the child's cause of death, Castillo said. Authorities did not release further information. A law enforcement source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation, said the case was being investigated as a suspected hot car death."

"A source close to the family, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said the child was a girl who was part of a neighborhood carpool. She was found in the vehicle only after her mother showed up to pick her up from preschool, the source said. It was unclear why the girl was left in the vehicle."

"The carpool driver has not been arrested. Louis Shapiro, that man's attorney, said his client was distraught and still processing the tragedy. "We feel heartbroken for the family who lost a child here," he said."

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