Toddler who died in locked car identified

A 19-month-old girl who died after she was inadvertently left in a car by a family member on a warm Tuesday afternoon in Moraga has been identified as Lily Aracic of Oakland, according to the Contra Costa County coroner’s office.

Police and firefighters responded to a medical call in the first block of Hardie Drive around 3:50 p.m.

The dispatcher reported that there was someone screaming and crying on the other end of the line. Police arriving at the scene found the child to be unresponsive, not breathing and began rescue-breathing until paramedics with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District could take over.

The girl was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek and pronounced dead.

Investigators believe the child was accidentally left in the vehicle by a family member who immediately called for help after finding the decedent. At the time, the temperature outside was roughly 80 degrees.

The official cause of death is still under investigation, pending the results of an autopsy.

“We’re basically still in the process of looking through things and interviewing people and figuring out exactly what occurred,” Moraga Police Chief Jon King said this afternoon.