Child with autism dies after being found in hot car

BURLESON, Texas — A five-year-old boy died after being found in a hot car in Burleson, Texas, on Sunday afternoon.

Zachary Elshaarawy was discovered just before 2 p.m. and was rushed to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth in critical condition. Zachary died in the hospital's emergency room, his father said.

His father, Darek, said Zachary, who has autism, wandered out of the family's house and into the unlocked vehicle where he was later found.

"I don't know how I'm going to live," said a visibly distraught Darek. "He was happy to go to school [tomorrow]. He knew he was going to go."

Zachary was reported missing for about 15 minutes, police said. A woman who identified herself as Zachary's grandmother told police the family had checked the home. Police searched the home and the nearby areas. Police found the boy in the back seat of the car and he was rushed to the hospital.

Darek told WFAA-TV he was in the back yard building a swing set for his son.

The National Weather Service reported the outside temperature reached 97 degrees in nearby Cleburne at 3 p.m. Temperatures in an enclosed vehicle can soar within minutes.

Officer Jae Berg with the Burleson Police Department said a thorough investigation would happen this week, including interviews with family members.

As of August 12, a San Jose State University study had tallied 14 heatstroke deaths of children left in cars in the U.S. this year. There were 31 such deaths in 2014.

Texas ranks worst in the study; between 1998 and 2014, 95 children died after being left in hot vehicles.