The boy’s father reportedly forgot to drop him off to school before going to work
A five-year-old boy has died after his dad forgot he was sleeping in the back of the car and left him locked in the heat on Tuesday.
The man was supposed to drop the boy to school between dropping his wife off at work and heading to work himself.
After dropping off his wife in the city of Knin, Croatia, the man, a soldier, drove straight to a street near his barracks and left the car locked there as he went to work.
Police reportedly believe the dad forgot about his sleeping son and trapped him in the heat of the car accidentally.
It is unknown whether the boy woke and tried to call for help, but as roadworks were happening nearby and the car had tinted windows, it is unlikely passersby would have noticed if he had.
The alarm wasn’t raised until the boy’s mother went to pick him up from school at around 3pm. After noticing his absence, she called her husband, who is said to have been initially convinced he dropped his son off.
But on returning to the car to check, he reportedly found the boy collapsed inside and fainted himself after failing to resuscitate him.
Emergency services confirmed the boy’s death on-scene at around 4pm.
A police investigation into the incident has been launched.
