New York baby dies in hot car: Grandmother left 14-month-old girl in back seat for EIGHT hours while she went to work

A 14-month-old baby girl has died in New York after her grandmother left her in the backseat of a hot car for eight hours while she went to work. 

The toddler, named locally as Chyasia Evans, succumbed to heatstroke after her body temperature reached 106 degrees in the back seat of a red Jeep Cherokee parked in Smithtown, Long Island on Monday. 

Suffolk County Police Department said her grandmother - an unnamed 54-year-old Greenlawn woman - meant to drop her off at a daycare center but forgot and headed to work. 

Eight hours later, at about 4.20pm, she went to collect her granddaughter from the  Redwood Lane daycare, only to realize she had left her behind in the SUV. 

The child was taken to Saint Catherine of Siena Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Chyasia Evans succumbed to heatstroke after her body temperature reached 106 degrees in the back seat of a red Jeep Cherokee parked in Smithtown, Long Island on Monday

Chyasia's grandmother - who has been described as a 54-year-old Greenlawn woman by police - forgot to drop the toddler off at daycare, instead accidentally leaving her in the SUV for eight hours. Pictured: Chyasia and her mom Jessica Watkins

Watkins paid tearful tribute to her baby girl at a candle-lit vigil held at the scene of her death on Tuesday night, revealing the last thing she said to her daughter was 'I love you, princess' 

Monday's high temperature in Smithtown was 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius), but temperatures inside a car can reach much higher.

Chyasia's aunt told NBC her body temperature had risen to 106 degrees - around seven degrees higher than the average body temperature for children, and around the level from which infant mortalities occur. 

Chyasia mother, Jessica Watkins, was among dozens of people who gathered at the scene where she died for a candlelit vigil on Tuesday night. 

They lined the parking space where the SUV had been parked the day before with red balloons and stuffed toys. 

Watkins made a tearful speech in tribute to her baby girl while clutching an Elmo toy.

'I know you're going to be my guardian angel, and I love you til we meet again baby,' she said. 

'I am so defeated. I don't know what to do.' 

Watkins added that the last thing she said to her daughter was 'I love you, princess' as she waved her off on Monday morning.  

Chyasia's godfather, Derrick Rountree, launched a fundraiser for the family in the wake of her death, sharing photographs of the baby laughing with her mom and meeting an Elmo mascot at a party. 

The baby girl's death remains under investigation and Suffolk County police said Wednesday morning that officers had not made any charges.  

Chyasia's aunt told NBC her niece's body temperature had risen to 106 degrees - about seven degrees higher than the average body temperature for children, and around the level from which infant mortalities occur

Dozens of friends and relatives lined the parking spot where Chyasia died with red balloons and Elmo toys at the vigil on Tuesday night 

About 40 children die of heatstroke in the United States every year after being left or becoming trapped in a car, the US Department of Transportation said. 

More than 950 children have died in a hot car over the past 25 years, records show.

Children are more vulnerable to extreme heat because their body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult's. 

Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and death can occur in children from 107 degrees. 

The majority of cases happen when a parent or caregiver forgets that the child is in the car.