ELLICOTT CITY, Md. - Officials have issued a warning for parents after a 23-month-old was found dead from an apparent heatstroke after being left alone inside a car for nine hours outside of her family home.

The parent have told police that on that morning they had changed their routine and that is what left to the child being left unattended in the car. Police and the family are calling it a tragic accident.

It was a 90-degree day and temperatures in the car were even hotter. The young girl was strapped in a car seat for nearly nine hours.

"I just can't imagine leaving a child in a car. I mean, I can't imagine the distraught they must feel, but still they have to be held responsible," said Erin Beers, Ellicott City resident.

Howard County Police say the little girls mother was inside the house the entire time, but say they do not plan to file charges.

"And if, in fact, it is determined ultimately to be an accident, then charges will likely not be filed in the case," said Sherry Llewellyn, Howard County Police Dept.

But that decision has other parents asking, why?

"Well I think parents, under all circumstances, should be held accountable," said Hasan Abdul-Salan, Ellicott City resident.

According to one child safety group, of the more than 300 car-heat deaths in the U.S. in the last decade, 60 percent have led to criminal charges while the remaining 40 percent were deemed inexcusable but not a crime.

A family friend is calling the incident a personal tragedy and said the family will grieve in quiet. The parents had no comment.

Meanwhile, authorities warn a car can heat up to dangerous, life-threatening temperatures in just 15 minutes on hot days.

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