A 5-year-old boy died after his mother left him inside a car outside the family's home in Houston while she prepared for her daughter's birthday party on Monday, a law enforcement official told CNN affiliate KTRK.
The mother was in a rush when she got home with her son and 8-year-old daughter, and the young boy was left in the car when she and her daughter went inside the house, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told KTRK.
It wasn't until two or three hours later that the mother realized her son was still buckled into his car seat, Gonzalez said.