A Georgia mother has been charged with murder and cruelty to children after her toddler died when left in a hot car for approximately nine hours, according to authorities. Deja Coleman, 29, of Lawrenceville, allegedly left her 1-year-old son in her vehicle in the Northside Hospital Gwinnett parking lot on Wednesday.
Lawrenceville Police Department announced the charges Thursday. Emergency responders were alerted when another employee discovered the child unresponsive in the car. Officers broke into the vehicle and attempted life-saving measures, but the toddler was pronounced dead at the scene. Police stated the interior temperature of the car had reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coleman told authorities she had dropped off her two other children at daycare before her shift and subsequently forgot her youngest son was still in the car. Police Captain Dena Pauly described Coleman as "devastated" by the incident.
According to the National Safety Council, at least 17 children have died in hot cars this year, and 34 such deaths were recorded in 2025. The incident follows several other recent child heatstroke deaths across the country, including a toddler in Florida who died in a car while in a babysitter's care and another case where a father reportedly left his infant son in a vehicle. In July, a Kansas couple was charged with aggravated child endangerment for allegedly leaving six children, including infants, in a hot car.