HURRICANE, Utah — The death of an 11-month-old girl after being left in a hot vehicle in southern Utah was a tragic accident that has devastated her mother, a family member said.
Aimee Wright said her sister, April Suwyn, is accepting blame for the death of her daughter, Skyah Suwyn, in Hurricane on Friday, and her pain has been compounded by negative comments on the Internet.
“It was an accident,” Wright told the Deseret News. “If people who are being negative could even see how hard she is on herself. If they could see that she keeps saying, ‘If only. If only. If only’ … She blames it all on herself.”
Wright said her sister thought she had taken the infant into the family home after dropping off her sons with a babysitter and did not discover her in the back seat until after she returned to pick up her sons later in the day. April Suwyn works in the home doing nails, Wright said, and the baby usually slept while she attended to clients.
When April Suwyn discovered her daughter in the car, the girl was not breathing and was unresponsive when emergency personnel arrived. She was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital, where she died.
Police say the child was left inside the car for “a substantial period of time” and the death is under investigation. Police are awaiting autopsy results before ruling whether the baby died from the heat.
Skyah was April and Micah Suwyn’s only daughter.
“I don’t know if April will ever forgive her herself,” Wright told the Deseret News.
A group of friends has organized a fundraising effort to help the family pay for medical and funeral expenses. It was nearing its goal of raising $12,000 Sunday afternoon.
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