10-Month-Old Dies After Hours Alone in Hot Car Outside Kentucky Hospital

A 10-month-old girl died after being left alone in a car for roughly eight hours outside a Kentucky hospital, according to police — the same hospital where her grandmother, the person responsible for watching her that morning, works as a doctor.

According to Madisonville police, the child's grandmother picked her up on the morning of August 13 planning to drop her at daycare before starting her shift at Owensboro Health Multicare. Instead, police say she drove straight to work, arriving around 8 a.m. — and the baby, Scottie Crowell, was left behind in the vehicle in the hospital's front parking lot.

The mistake wasn't discovered until that afternoon. Scottie's father went to pick her up from daycare and was told she'd never been dropped off. He called her mother, who then called the grandmother — and it was only then, police say, that she realized the baby was still in the car. She ran outside and found her granddaughter roughly eight hours after she'd first arrived at work.

911 was called immediately. Major Jason McKnight said officers, Med Center EMS, and the fire department all responded and found the infant. First responders tried to save her. She could not be revived.

The story has spread widely because of how ordinary the mistake sounds set against how devastating the outcome was — a grandmother running late, meaning to make one stop before work, and simply not making it. Many people online say they can't understand how it happens. Others have pointed to "forgotten baby syndrome," a documented phenomenon where a caregiver's brain runs a familiar commute on autopilot and skips an unusual stop — not unique to any one person, but tragically recurring.

Police say the grandmother consented to a blood draw as standard procedure, and investigators say they don't suspect she was under the influence. An autopsy has been completed, with results expected to take several weeks. Kentucky's Child Protective Services is also involved, as is standard in any case involving a child's death.

No charges have been filed. Police say the case will go before a grand jury once their investigation is complete — meaning it will ultimately be up to a jury to decide whether criminal charges are warranted.

The exact circumstances remain under investigation, and no findings on intent or culpability have been released. IF Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.