A 2-year-old boy died of hyperthermia yesterday after being left alone for 6 1/2 hours in a car outside a Bucks County day care center, authorities said.

The child, Daniel Slutsky, had been left in the car by Rimma Shuartsman, 46, a neighbor and operator of center who took the boy to the facility three times a week since September, said Joseph Campbell, the county coroner.

Yesterday morning, however, Shuartsman forgot Daniel was in the back seat as she went inside Fairy Tales Day Care Center, 239 Highland Ave, Penndel.

Shuartsman returned to her car at 4:45 p.m. to find the toddler unresponsive after being locked inside the car with the windows up for 6 1/2 hours.

She took him inside the day care center and called 911. An ambulance rushed the child St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:17 p.m.

The temperature reached a high of 83 degrees at 4 p.m. yesterday at Willow Grove.

"This is just a nightmare no parent should have to experience," said Campbell, whose office ruled the death accidental after am autopsy last night.

The Washington Post reported earlier this year that 15 to 25 children die across the country each year after a parent or caretaker forgets a child is in the back of a car.

Prosecutors do not always press charges in such cases

Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said this afternoon that an investigation is continuing into whether to file charges. Henry said she did not know how long the probe would take, but added, "This is a tragedy, and we obviously would want to expedite the process here."