A babysitter is behind bars in New Mexico after allegedly leaving a 2-year-old girl in a hot car for several hours last week.
The toddler, Zariah Hasheme, was pronounced dead when officers with the Hobbs Police Department responded to the scene in the 1800 block of N. Turner at about 1:27 p.m. on Sept. 17.
Investigators say the child was left in the care of 41-year-old Tammie Brooks at about 6:30 that morning and she was supposed to drop the girl off at day care. However, police say Brooks drove to her place of employment instead and only realized the child was still in the car after running an errand, hours later.
The heartbreaking loss is even more devastating for the girl’s parents, who considered Zariah their miracle baby. The girl’s mother, Demi Petrowski, told KOB that she had six miscarriages before having her daughter.
An autopsy will be conducted on Zariah by the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque.
Brooks is being charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death, a 1st degree felony.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Hobbs Police Department at 575-397-9265.
