Two Toddlers Die From Heat In Parked Car

Two children died Tuesday after spending up to 10 hours in a car parked outside a motel in nearly 90-degree weather while their mother met friends for a party, police said.

One-year-old Dustin Ducker and his brother, Devon Ducker, who would have been 2 in July, apparently died of dehydration and suffocation after being strapped in their car seats with the windows rolled up.

The boys’ mother, Jennie Bain, took her sons to Riverpark Hospital about 1 p.m., where they were pronounced dead. Bain, 20, appeared to be drunk, and a blood alcohol test was ordered, said Police Chief Dickie Kesey. The results were not immediately available.

“I don’t think she realizes what’s going on,” he said.

Police believe Bain went to the motel about 3:30 a.m., although they said she told them she arrived there about 10 a.m.

“Our investigation shows the kids were left unattended from eight to 10 hours,” Kesey said.

Bain has yet to be charged in the deaths.

Police did not know the name or address of the boys’ father.

In 89-degree weather, the temperature inside a car could quickly rise to 115 to 120 degrees with the windows closed, said Dr. Keith Wrenn, associate professor of emergency medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.