A New Jersey man is facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child following the tragic death of his 8-week-old daughter, who was allegedly abandoned in a hot car for several hours. On Monday, July 15, at around 1:45 p.m., officers with the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to a report of an infant in cardiac arrest, according to the prosecutor’s office. Despite first responders’ efforts to administer first aid, the child was pronounced dead at the scene, the report said. New Jersey.com.
The next day, the Ocean County District Attorney’s Office announced that the baby’s father, Avraham Chaitovsky, 28, of Jackson, New Jersey, had been arrested. Authorities allege the 2-month-old baby was left in a car for “an extended period of time.”
ABC News and NJ.com reported that the temperature in Lakewood Township that Monday reached 89 degrees, with a heat index of 103 degrees. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated in a news release that “leaving the infant in the car unattended for such an extended period of time was the cause and manner of the infant’s death.”
Chaitovsky was arrested and booked into the Ocean County Jail in Toms River. He was released following a court hearing on Tuesday. NJ.com noted that Chaitovsky currently has no attorney listed on his court records and it is unclear whether he has entered a plea or not.
Prosecutors have indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges could be filed. An excessive heat warning had been issued for most of New Jersey from Sunday, July 14, through Wednesday, July 17, according to the Weather Service.
The non-profit organization National Security Council (NSC) reported that 13 children in the U.S. died from being left in hot cars in 2024. This year’s incidents include a 2-year-old girl in Arizona whose father is charged with second-degree murder, a 2-year-old boy in Arkansas whose parents face charges of capital murder and other crimes including neglect, and an 8-year-old girl in North Carolina whose mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse by intentional act causing serious injury.
The National Security Council states that the average number of child deaths in hot cars each year is 37, and the advocacy site NoHeatStroke.org reports that more than 980 children have died from being left in hot cars since 1998.
If you suspect child abuse has occurred, call Childhelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in more than 170 languages.