By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
June 2, 2010, 3:51PM

A 2-year-old girl who was accidentally left in a locked car for several hours in Baytown last month remains in critical condition at a Houston hospital, but is still unresponsive, child welfare officials said today.

Baytown police have refused to release the child's name or provide any specific details about the incident, but a Child Protective Services spokeswoman said today that the toddler's father, who accidentally left the girl in the car, has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

The incident happened May 11 when the toddler's father dropped off his older children at school, then went to an automotive shop he owns in the 900 block of North Alexander in Baytown, said CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin. His 2-year-old daughter was accidentally left in his car with the vehicle's doors locked at his workplace for several hours.

When the father went out to his car around 12:30 p.m. that day, he discovered the toddler inside the vehicle. He then took the child to Baytown Fire Station Number 4 in the 900 block of East Fayle, several blocks away from his car shop, Olguin said.

The little girl was unresponsive, but still breathing. Firefighters tried to bring down the child's core temperature and gave her oxygen before a LifeFlight medical helicopter flew her to Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center, where she is still a patient.

CPS caseworkers did not take custody of the other children at the parents' home, but provided the family help for grief counseling. Baytown police are continuing to investigate the incident.

Statistics show half of the children left in hot cars are left there unintentionally, Olguin said. The mistake typically happens while the child is sleeping and is usually an error made by a parent or caretaker not accustomed to taking the child in their car as part of their normal daily routine, Olguin said.

peggy.ohare@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7033307.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor