A 5-year-old child died after they were left in a car “for up to several hours” amid sweltering temperatures in Virginia in what police have said appears to be a “very tragic accident.”

Officers responded to the family’s home in Springfield on Tuesday afternoon after receiving a report that “a child was left in a car and found unresponsive,” the Fairfax County Police said onTwitter.

The child was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital, according to police.

“Early information suggests the child could have been in there for up to several hours,” Lieb said.

He noted that once the 911 call came through, officers arrived within minutes, and immediately began performing CPR on the unconscious child.

“An autopsy will be conducted to confirm cause and manner, but I do suspect based on the preliminary findings and the high degree of heat that that certainly played a factor in the child’s very tragic passing,” Lieb said.

Temperatures reached the 90s during the day on Tuesday, according to CBS affiliateWUSA.

Nearly 900 children have died of heatstroke since 1998 because they were left or became trapped in a hot car, according to theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Lieb said Fairfax County had a similar death in June 2020, when an 11-month-old child died after being left in a car.

More than half of hot car deaths happen because someone forgets a child in a car, and 46 percent of the time, a caregiver meant to drop the child off at a daycare or preschool and forgot, according to the NHTSA.

The agency recommendsnever leaving a child in a vehicle unattended(even if windows are open and air conditioning is on), making it a habit to check your entire vehicle before locking the door and walking away, asking your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up as expected, and placing a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the backseat as another reminder to check it before you lock the car.

The NHTSA also advises always keeping car doors and trunks locked so that children can’t get into unattended vehicles.

source: people.com