A Nebraska father has been charged with the death of his five-month-old son after he was left in a sweltering car during a heat advisory.
The Hastings Police Department responded to a call of the infant — who authorities have not named — found unresponsive in the hot car in a parking lot of Pacha Soap Co. on Monday at around 5 p.m., NTV reported.
Officers and Hastings Fire and Rescue attempted to revive the boy at the scene before rushing him to Mary Lanning Healthcare about 5 miles away, where he was pronounced dead.
A preliminary investigation into the infant’s death determined he died of extreme heat exposure.
Later that day, law enforcement arrested the child’s father, Jeremy Hansen.
Hansen, 36, was charged with negligent child abuse resulting in death.
Police called the child’s death “heartbreaking” and offered their condolences to “the family, friends, first responders and all those affected by this unimaginable loss.”
“We extend our deepest condolences and are committed to supporting those impacted during this difficult time,” the department said in a statement, according to NTV.
Temperatures reached the upper 90s in Hastings on Monday, with most of Nebraska under a heat advisory when the child was left in the vehicle, according to the US National Weather Service.
Hansen was formally charged by the Adams County District Attorney on Tuesday and will have his initial court appearance Friday.
While the small Nebraska community grapples with the tragedy, a fundraiser has been launched to support the Hansen family, according to a Meal Train fundraiser page.
As of Thursday, nearly 400 people have donated more than $37,000 to the family, the outlet reported.
Community members have also signed up to donate meals to help feed the couple’s three surviving children with dinners for the next three months.
Some individuals in the community have also allegedly called out Adams County prosecutors for charging the father.
“I’m so deeply saddened and disappointed to see the judgment that has been cast so easily,” one of Hansen’s friends allegedly wrote online, according to the Daily Mail.
“Imagine your greatest fear, your largest human moment …as a parent being put on display for everyone to judge, while simultaneously trying to even comprehend the events that led to your greatest loss.
“He doesn’t deserve this. His family doesn’t deserve this. No one deserves this. Like it’s been said before… how about we lift them up in prayer instead of tearing them down. This great of a loss should call for a greater awakening.”
From 1990 to 2024, 5 children have died in Nebraska in hot cars, according to statistics provided by the Kids and Car Safety organization.
More than 1,100 children have died in hot cars in the United States since 1990, with 88% of the deaths nationwide being children 3 years old or younger.
On average, 40 children die each year from heatstroke inside a vehicle across the nation.
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