A mother who was arrested in connection with the death of her younger brother who was left in a car in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was warned by the police for leaving her eldest son in the car three weeks before the incident. Interviews with investigative officials revealed that he had submitted a document to the police saying that he would never leave his child in the car.
On the 29th of last month, Kosho Nagasawa (1) and his 2-year-old sister were found unconscious in a car parked in a park in Atsugi City. Reina Nagasawa (21), a mother living in Tokyo, was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a guardian who left Kosho in a car and was sent to the public prosecutor's office on the 3rd.
According to the police, the cause of death of the two people is considered to be heat stroke.
According to the investigation so far, the mother visited an acquaintance's house in the city just before, and during that time, there is a suspicion that the siblings were left in the car parked in the parking lot for about an hour. is.
Also, three weeks before the incident, on the 8th of last month, her mother left Kosho alone in a car at a commercial facility in Samukawa-cho, Kanagawa Prefecture.
According to investigative sources, a police officer rushed to the scene after receiving the report and cautioned the mother, saying, "I learned that leaving a child in a car is considered abuse. I will never do it again." has submitted a petition.
The police are investigating in detail about the details and the situation of childcare.
Details of the day
I have summarized the circumstances of the incident that I know from interviews with the police so far.
The fire department was notified before 5:00 pm on the 29th of last month.
Her mother, Reina Nagasawa, reported that she was in the parking lot of Bosai no Oka Park in Atsugi City, saying that two children in the car were unconscious.
When the ambulance team rushed to the scene, they found the eldest son, Kosho Nagasawa (1), and his 2-year-old sister in a dead state in the car.
The highest temperature of the day was a severe heat exceeding 33 degrees in the neighboring city of Ebina.
Kosho-kun died shortly after being transported to the hospital, and his 2-year-old sister, who was in critical condition, also died yesterday (2nd).
The cause of his death is believed to be heat stroke.
Initially, the mother explained to the police, ``I turned off the engine and opened the window for about 30 minutes.
After that, when the police checked the surrounding security cameras and investigated the suspect's behavior in detail, it was found that he had visited an acquaintance's house in Atsugi City by car before going to the park.
It is believed that she stayed at an acquaintance's house for about an hour, and during this time her mother is suspected of leaving her siblings in a car parked in a nearby parking lot.
In an inquiry after her arrest, her mother said, "There is no doubt that she left her sibling alone," and she admitted to the charges.
After leaving an acquaintance's house, her mother moved to the parking lot of the park with the two in the car and reported the incident to the fire department.
Early last month I left my eldest son in a parked car
The deceased eldest son, Kosho Nagasawa (1), was found abandoned in a parked car in early last month, three weeks before the incident.
On the evening of the 8th of last month, in the parking lot of a commercial facility in Samukawa-cho, Kanagawa Prefecture, a passer-by found Kosho-kun, who was left alone in the car and crying.
At this time, the car's engine was turned off and the air conditioner was not on.
A police officer who happened to be patrolling nearby rushed in to check on the situation, and about 5 to 10 minutes later, Reina Nagasawa, the suspect's mother, returned from shopping with her 2-year-old daughter and grandmother. It means that
At that time, her mother explained to the police, "My eldest son was sleeping, and I felt sorry for him if he woke me up, so I left him behind," and the police warned him that he was being abused.
At that time, although there was no abnormality in Kosho-kun's health condition, the police notified the Central Child Guidance Center in Kanagawa Prefecture on the 14th of last month that it was a case of neglect.
Child Guidance Center ``It's undeniable that the response was a little slow''
A press conference was held by the prefecture and the Child Guidance Center following the death of a young sibling who was left in a car.
According to the interview, on the 8th of last month, about three weeks before the incident, a one-year-old son was found abandoned in a car in a parking lot of a commercial facility in Samukawa-cho, Kanagawa Prefecture, and the police who responded at that time sent him to the police station on the 14th. It means that there was a notification to the child consultation center.
The child guidance center began investigating as neglect, and called her mother's mobile phone for the first time around 4:20 pm on the 29th of last month when the incident occurred.
The phone didn't go through, and the mother reported the brother's accident to the fire department at around 5:00 pm.
Regarding the fact that I contacted the mother for the first time 15 days after receiving the notification, the child was growing well and there was no other information suggesting abuse. I understand that leaving it in the car is abuse. I will never do it again."
Hidetoshi Yamagishi, head of the Atsugi Child Guidance Center, said, "It is extremely regrettable that a young life was lost, and we take it very seriously. We should have taken the seriousness of leaving infants in cars more seriously. We were a little slow to respond. I can't deny that," he said.
The prefectural government plans to promptly notify child guidance centers in the prefecture about the dangers of leaving children in cars during the summer.
The temperature inside the car under the scorching sun reaches 45 degrees in 30 minutes
How much does the temperature inside the car rise in the scorching heat of midsummer?
JAF = Japan Automobile Federation is an experiment conducted in August to see how much the temperature inside the car rises from 25 degrees under the conditions that the outside temperature is 35 degrees and the experiment starts at noon.
With the windows closed and the engine turned off, the temperature inside the car rose to 45 degrees Celsius 30 minutes after the experiment began.
Three hours later, at around 3:00 pm, the temperature exceeded 55 degrees.
Also, even if the engine is turned off and the windows are opened by about 3 cm, the temperature inside the car will be 40 degrees after 30 minutes, and about 45 degrees at 3:00 pm, making it difficult for people to stay inside the car. It was found that the temperature
Misako Funatsu of the JAF Tokyo branch said, "Even if the air conditioner is turned off, the inside of the car will heat up faster than you can imagine, so you should definitely avoid going shopping without leaving children or pets. Accidents can occur due to carelessness, such as ``If it's a short time,'' or ``It's okay because the temperature is lower than usual.'' When you get out of the car at a parking lot, etc., check that you haven't forgotten to unload it. I want you to."
The person who lives in the upper room "A close family sadly shocked"
A man who lives in the room above Nagasawa said, ``We were a close family, and I didn't see anything strange or violent, but when I learned about the incident, I was sad and shocked.''
A man who was a senior at the high school that Nagasawa attended said, ``He has just had a child, but I don't think he can leave him behind for any reason.''
Another man, who is an acquaintance of the suspect, said, ``I have the impression that she is a lively and energetic girl who greets me firmly every time I meet her. There was nothing like that. I was surprised because I thought I was a good mother."