RantCrush Top 5: June 12, 2017

Two toddlers died in Kerrville, Texas after their 19-year-old mother allegedly left them alone in a car overnight–a total of 15 hours. Police say that the woman, Amanda Hawkins, left her two daughters, a one-year-old and a two-year-old, in the car while hanging out at a friend’s house. She didn’t return to the car until noon the next day, when temperatures had risen to about 90 degrees, despite someone in the house telling her the children were crying. She allegedly tried to wake them up by giving them a bath, instead of going to the hospital, as she didn’t want to get in trouble. Once she brought them to the hospital, the children were put on ventilators but died on Thursday.

On Friday, authorities in Kerrville, Texas, announced that criminal charges had been filed against Hawkins after she had initially told law enforcement that the girls must have come in contact with something poisonous when playing outside. Eleven children have died so far this year from heatstroke after their parents left them in a car. “This is by far the most horrific case of child endangerment that I have seen in the 37 years that I have been in law enforcement,” Kerr County Sheriff Hierholzer said.

#Texas Mom leaves her toddlers in a hot car to die, ignoring their cries west of @FortWorth https://t.co/ZNe4qJmkkj pic.twitter.com/C66eVaAuTf

— azfamily 3TV CBS 5 (@azfamily) June 12, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.