Downstate child found dead in car

BELLEVILLE -- Authorities say a 1-year-old Collinsville girl who was found unresponsive in a vehicle in unincorporated Belleville had been left in the car by a family member.

St. Clair County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Johnson says the family member who left the Giselle Gomez and her 2½ year-old sister in the running car on Wednesday was in police custody Thursday evening at the St. Clair County Jail. The family member's name or relation to the child has not been made public.

Johnson said an autopsy Thursday determined Giselle died from hyperthermia due to extreme heat. Hyperthermia is a condition where the body temperature is significantly above normal, and when the body temperature reaches 107 degrees the cells begin dying and the organs begin failing.

The temperature in Belleville was 89 degrees at 3 p.m. Wednesday, which means the temperature inside the car had probably risen above 100 degrees within 10 minutes.