New court documents provided additional details in connection with the death of a 1-year-old California child who was left inside a hot car last month, with temperatures that reached 102 degrees that day.
According to ABC 30, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez is accused of leaving her two children, ages one and two, strapped inside car seats inside her vehicle as she visited the Always Beautiful Med Spa in Bakersfield on June 29, for a lip injection procedure.
At around 4:30 p.m., Hernandez allegedly returned to her car, a 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid, and discovered 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez in distress and foaming at the mouth. A customer took the 2-year-od into a restroom and poured water on his face, while first responders arrived.
Although the 2-year-old survived the incident, Amillio was pronounced dead after failed resuscitation attempts.
According to WKRN, Hernandez told police that she left children inside the vehicle with the air conditioner on, while an employee reportedly said the children could have stayed in the waiting room during the procedure.
“Sure if you don’t mind them waiting in the waiting room hun,” the employee said when Hernandez asked if she could bring her children with her, according to court documents.
A nurse at the spa said that Hernandez made no mention of the children being with her when she arrived.
A bystander who grabbed the 2-year-old from the car said that the air conditioning was not turned on. The vehicle’s manufacturer indicated that the air conditioner automatically turns off after an hour of inactivity, according to what an expert told Bakersfield police.
The lip procedure typically takes around 15 to 20 minutes, but police said Hernandez left the children in the car for nearly two hours, since the day in question at the spa had been unusually busy.
Police said Hernandez failed to check on the children the entire time.
On July 7, Hernandez pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and not guilty to two counts of willful cruelty to a child. She remains behind bars at the Kern County jail on a $1 million bond.
She’s due back in court on July 11.
[Feature Photo: Amillio Gutierrez/Facebook]
