The grieving mother of a one-year-old boy who died after being left in a hot car has revealed her heartache in a touching tribute to her ‘beautiful angel’.
Police and paramedics rushed to Chester Hill in Sydney’s west after the 22-month-old child was found unresponsive in a locked car on Sunday, when temperatures reached nearly 35C.
The boy, named Jone, had been taken inside the family home by the time emergency crews arrived. He couldn’t be revived and died at the scene.
On Sunday night, his mother, Samantha Rowlands, shared a picture of her son which she captioned ‘my baby’ alongside a string of heartbreak emojis.
‘She’s broken – devastated. She doesn’t want to believe that this has happened to her baby,’ a family member told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
The mother of a one-year-old boy who died after being left in a hot car has revealed her heartache in a touching tribute. Samantha Rowlands shared this picture of herself with her son
The boy, named Jone, had been taken inside the family home by the time emergency crews arrived on Sunday
Ms Rowlands captioned a photo with ‘my Baby’ alongside a string of heartbreak emojis
‘My family is angry. This shouldn’t have happened to that little boy.’
Tributes to Jone and messages of support to Ms Rowlands have flooded in.
‘So sorry to hear hun, rest in peace little angel,’ and ‘rest in peace handsome boy,’ were among them.
‘This is so sad to here Sam and family, thinking of you all,’ another wrote.
‘She’s broken – devastated. She doesn’t want to believe that this has happened to her baby,’ a family member said of Ms Rowlands (pictured)
Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia the family were quiet and mostly kept to themselves.
Frank Ingrati, who lives next door, said he is on friendly terms with the household, and they even gifted him a hamper at Christmas.
‘They’re a really friendly family, keep to themselves, a really nice quiet family where the kids play in the backyard,’ he said.
‘They give me no trouble at all.’
He said there were often visits from extended family, with cousins coming to play in an inflatable pool they kept in the backyard after school hours.
‘Sometimes there are three cars [parked out the front] sometimes one, so it’s hard to keep track, he explained.
The child’s mother was seen running down the street screaming ‘my baby’ after she was told of the news
Another woman, believed to be the boy’s grandmother, was wheeled out of the home on a stretcher and was treated for shock
Mr Ingrati said both the mother and grandmother of the children lived at the home, and both appeared to be devoted guardians.
‘It’s a shocking tragedy,’ he said.
Jone, who is a twin and the youngest of six children, was reportedly left in the care of someone else while his mother was out on Sunday.
Ms Rowlands was seen running down the street screaming ‘my baby’ after she was told of the news.
Initial reports suggested the child he was left inside a hot car as temperatures soared past 30C
Police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and spoke with a number of family members at the scene
His grandmother was put in an ambulance on a stretcher and taken to hospital suffering from shock.
Police established a crime scene and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
They spoke with a number of family members at the scene.
‘The child had been left unattended, we’re still looking into the circumstances surrounding his death,’ a NSW police spokesman said.
The child was found inside the family home, but it is not yet known how long he was left inside the car