14-month-old left in car dies
The boy's grandfather forgot that he had left the child in the car in 98-degree heat, police said.
The 14-month-old boy left for hours in a hot car on Tuesday died yesterday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to the Associated Press.
Hospital spokeswoman Dana Mortensen said late last night that at the family's request, she would not confirm Nicholas McCorkle's death.
The tragedy began to unfold Tuesday morning when the youngster's grandfather, Edward Kanterman, was to have dropped him off at day care after picking him up at his Drexel Hill home, police said. It was a routine Kanterman followed three days a week.
But this time, Kanterman, 59, of Lansdowne, forgot he had Nicholas in the car and went straight to his teaching job at a Delaware County technical school, police said. By the time he returned to his car, the child had been locked inside for five hours in 98-degree heat.
Nicholas was taken first to Bryn Mawr Hospital and then to CHOP, where he was put on a ventilator and listed in critical condition.
According to the Associated Press, the baby's mother, Rebecca Kanterman, said that "her father made a terrible mistake and is extremely remorseful." She said she did not want him charged with a crime.
Marple Township Police Chief Thomas Murray Jr. said in an interview last week that Kanterman had no history of dementia and did not appear to have been disoriented by the heat.
Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said last night that the investigation was continuing.