A tragic and still-unexplained death is under investigation in northwest Harris County, where a 13-year-old girl died after becoming unresponsive in a vehicle. Homicide detectives are now trying to piece together exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the teenager's death.
The emergency unfolded in the middle of the afternoon. Just after 2:30, Precinct 4 Constable deputies rushed to the intersection of Veterans Memorial Drive and Antoine Drive after a frantic call for help came in.
According to investigators, the alarm was raised by the girl's foster mother. She called 911 when her foster daughter, a 13-year-old, became unresponsive inside her vehicle.
What followed was a desperate roadside effort to save the girl. The mother pulled into a nearby parking lot, where several bystanders helped her pull the teenager from the car so that CPR could be performed.
Despite those efforts, the outcome was heartbreaking. EMS pronounced the 13-year-old dead at the scene, ending the frantic attempts by the foster mother and the bystanders to revive her.
The case has been handed to investigators who handle the most serious matters. The Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide Division is now leading the investigation, working to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.
For now, officials say key questions remain open. They do not yet know the cause of death and have not ruled anything out, including the possibility that the day's intense heat may have played a factor, adding that the foster mother is cooperating and that the exact cause will have to be determined by the medical examiner.