Doctor forgets 10-month-old granddaughter inside hot car in US, she dies

The car was parked outside the medical clinic where the baby's grandmother, Dr Stacey Fazenbaker, worked, according to the police. The infant was reportedly found motionless and strapped in the backseat of the vehicle.

In Short

• 10-month-old girl dies inside parked car in Kentucky's Madisonville
• Her grandmother, a doctor, had forgotten to drop her off at daycare
• The baby was found motionless and strapped in the car's backseat

A 10-month-old girl died in the US state of Kentucky after being left inside a blistering-hot car for hours by her 61-year-old grandmother, who is a doctor. The incident took place in Madisonville on August 13.

The car was parked outside the medical clinic where the baby's grandmother, Dr Stacey Fazenbaker, worked, according to the police. The infant has been identified as Scottie Gwyn Crowell. She was reportedly found motionless and strapped in the backseat of Fazenbaker's car about eight hours after the latter was supposed to drop her off at daycare.

Temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) that day and peaked at 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) inside the car, according to a report by TV news station WEHT.

Fazenbaker had offered to pick up her granddaughter that morning and drive her to daycare. However, when the infant's father went to pick her up at 4 pm, he was informed by the daycare's staff that she was never dropped off that morning, the Daily Mail reported.

Shortly afterwards, the family came to learn that Fazenbaker had instead gone straight to work, and forgotten the baby girl inside her car. When she was alerted about the situation, the healthcare professional "ran outside with some co-workers to get the child," a cop said.

"But it was far too late by then," Madisonville Police Major Jason McKnight told reporters, per the New York Post. "The grandmother had already got the child, and so the officers tried some lifesaving measures, but unfortunately it was too late for that," the official added.

While no charges were filed in its immediate aftermath, the police continue to probe the incident. Fazenbaker was tested for drugs and alcohol, but the police don’t expect the results to be positive.

"As the picture becomes clearer on how this could have possibly happened, there is a possibility charges are sought before the grand jury convenes," McKnight stated.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the official cause of the infant's death. The Daily Mail's report says that Fazenbaker had moved to Madisonville just a year ago to be close to her daughter, 33-year-old Sydni Crowell, 33, who is herself a doctor.

"We love you so much, our sweet baby girl," Sydni's sister Emmy Fazenbaker said in a tribute posted on Facebook for her niece. Scottie was her parents' second child and was reportedly born via in vitro fertilisation (IVF) on September 20, 2025.

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