North Carolina woman arrested after 8-year-old daughter dies in hot car

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman is facing felony charges after her 8-year-old daughter died on Wednesday after being left in a hot car, authorities said.

According to Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Ashlee Rochelle Sampson, 36, of Charlotte, was arrested Thursday. She was charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent child abuse causing serious injury, records show.

According to court records, Stallings allegedly left her daughter in the vehicle for 3 1/2 hours while she went to work at an Amazon, facility WSOC-TV reported.

The temperature outside on Wednesday in Charlotte reached 94 degrees, according to court records.

According to a news release from Kids and Car Safety, the child was at least the fifth to die this year from a hot car and the first in North Carolina. Three other cases are pending autopsies to determine whether they are hot car deaths, according to the organization.

“We’ve seen the numbers increase and with things so hot, we’re very concerned this is going to be a tragic summer,” said Amber Rollins, the director of Kids and Car Safety, according to WSOC. “When something like this happens, you can’t go backward and so the best thing we can do is raise awareness.”

“This is an incredibly tragic incident. During this difficult time, we’re supporting our employees and have made counseling resources widely available,” Amazon said in a statement to the television station. “We’re also working closely with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as they investigate.”

According to jail records, Stallings is being held in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. Bail was set at $250,000.

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