We should all know by now the dangers associated with young children and animals in hot cars.
Yet it seems as though every summer we’re offered painful reminders all the same, as often avoidable tragedies befall communities and tear families apart.
In a recent case, a mother from Texas, Natalie Chambers, was found dead in her vehicle after taking a fatal overdose. The 31-year-old’s lifeless body was found at a little after 10 a.m. on July 23.
Sadly, however, Natalie was not alone in the car. Her two young daughters, Isabel, 4, and 2-year-old Elise, were also in the vehicle – they died of heatstroke after their mom’s overdose.
As per reports, Natalie’s family became worried when she didn’t show up, aware of her history when it came to drug and alcohol abuse.
It’s not been made clear if she overdosed intentionally or accidentally, but grieving family members said she had been battling demons.
“Natalie had struggled in the past but had gotten some help and was an amazing mom,” one unnamed family member told InForney. “Recently, during COVID she had become more depressed and had obviously relapsed.
“We are all devastated that the girls had to witness such a tragedy and suffer themselves.”
Natalie and her children were found after investigators tracked her cellphone to her blue 2008 Ford Escape, located in Farmers Branch, Dallas County.
As per the Daily Mail, security footage shows Chambers pulling into a parking lot and switching off her engine shortly after 9 a.m. on July 22.
Detective Steven Rutherford said: “Our officers responded to the location, checked the area, and actually located the vehicle in the 4300 blocks of LBJ freeway.
“Upon contacting the occupants of the vehicle, the officers observed there were three occupants inside the vehicle and the tragic discovery was made that all three occupants of the vehicle were deceased.”
He continued: “This morning’s very, very tragic events where we’ve lost three precious lives … officers have to respond to that situation. That’s a lot. That’s a lot to see that. But we do have a job to do. You do your job and then you have to move forward. And we’ll check on our guys and make sure everybody’s OK.”
The family, meanwhile, told news outlets that Isabel and Elise ultimately died of heatstroke in the car, with temperatures having reached 93 degrees Fahrenheit by the afternoon of July 22.
My heart bleeds for these poor babies, they certainly didn’t deserve that end.
Share this article to send thoughts and prayers to the mourning family at this time. Lord knows they need them.
