New Jersey Man Charged After 8-Week-Old Daughter Dies in Hot Car
PHOTO: OCEAN COUNTY JAIL
A New Jersey man faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child following the tragic death of his 8-week-old daughter, who was allegedly left in a hot car for several hours. On Monday, July 15, around 1:45 p.m., officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to a report of a baby 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, as reported by NJ.com.
The following day, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced that the baby’s father, 28-year-old Avraham Chaitovsky from Jackson, N.J., had been arrested. Authorities allege that the 2-month-old was left in a car for “an extended period of time.”
ABC News and NJ.com reported that the temperature in Lakewood Township on that Monday reached 89 degrees, with a heat index of 103 degrees. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated in a press release that “leaving the infant in the car unattended for such a long period of time was the cause and manner of the infant’s death.”
Chaitovsky was taken into custody and held at 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 in his court records, and it is unclear if he has entered a plea.
Prosecutors have indicated that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed. An excessive heat warning had been issued for most of New Jersey from Sunday, July 14, to Wednesday, July 17, according to the Weather Service.
The nonprofit National Safety 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 capital murder charges 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 willful act causing serious injury.
The NSC states that the average number of child hot car deaths each year is 37, and the advocacy site NoHeatStroke.org reports that over 980 children have died from being left in hot cars since 1998.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
