One-year-old girl dies after being left in car outside childcare centre

A one-year-old girl has been found dead in a car by a relative after being left in the vehicle outside a Sydney childcare centre for an “extended period of time”.

Emergency services were called to the centre on Marana Road in Earlwood about 5.35pm on Tuesday by a member of the public after the girl was found unresponsive by the relative.

NSW Ambulance paramedics attended, but the girl was declared dead at the scene, which was designated as a crime scene shortly after.

Superintendent Christine McDonald said while the investigation was in its infancy and the girl’s official cause of death was not yet known, information provided to police “suggests that this baby was left inside the vehicle for an extended period of time on a very hot day here in Sydney”.

“Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly,” she said.

McDonald said the male relative who found the girl had been taken to hospital in shock and had been assisting police with inquiries. The man, who has not been arrested or charged, was expected to be interviewed once his condition had improved.

The girl’s mother was assisting investigators on Tuesday night. She has not been arrested or charged. The family is not believed to be known to child protective services, McDonald said.

Police were working to establish how long the girl had been in the car and whether she was supposed to have been dropped at the childcare centre earlier on Tuesday, details that will form part of the investigation into her death.

“We need to seek that information from people that we’re currently speaking to or waiting to speak to,” McDonald said.