Child dies in hot car at American Fork business complex

AMERICAN FORK, Utah (KUTV) — A child was found dead in a car at a Utah County business complex, police confirmed to 2News.

Police responded to the complex at 42 North 200 East in American Fork around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday where the 9-year-old boy was located inside a vehicle.

Emergency medical technicians performed CPR and a medical helicopter was called to the scene, but the child passed away. It is believed the child was inside the car for approximately two hours before he was discovered, Lt. Josh Christensen said.

"The vehicle was turned off, all the windows were rolled up, they weren’t rolled down at all and all the doors were closed," Christensen said.

Police said the child was in the care of a business that provides services to people with intellectual disabilities.

“It sounds as if he was picked up and brought here by a staff member, somehow there was multiple individuals who were brought here by that staff member," Christensen said. “Everybody involved is taking this very hard."

Investigators were seen taking temperature measurements inside the vehicle. Christensen said it is not yet clear if anyone will face criminal charges in connection to the boy's death.

This is a developing story, updates will be posted as they become available. Jeremy Harris will have live reports from the scene on 2News at 5, and 6 p.m.


12-year-old Utah boy dies after being left in hot car in American Fork

AMERICAN FORK — A 12-year-old boy died Wednesday after he was left inside a car parked near an American Fork business on a sweltering summer day, police said.

The boy was found in the car near Roost Services, 42 N. 200 East, which provides services for individuals with developmental disabilities, according to American Fork Police Lt. Josh Christensen. He was in the care of that facility when he was left behind by a staff member, he added.

Emergency personnel received the call about 1:22 p.m. and found the boy unresponsive in the car when they arrived to the scene, Christensen said. The boy had been left in the car for upwards of two hours.

Family members identified the boy as 12-year-old Joshua Hancey, according to a GoFundMe* page. Police initially said the boy was 9, but family members clarified he was 12.

"There are no words to describe the devastation my family is feeling right now," the boy's uncle wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Josh was a loving child who needed extra care, and was gravely mistreated."

Temperatures reached as high as 94 degrees in American Fork by afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, as an ongoing heat wave grips the region.

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