KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — A 19-year-old Texas mother whose two toddlers died when she left them for hours inside a hot vehicle while she visited friends has been charged with child endangerment.
Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer says Amanda Hawkins was arrested in San Antonio Thursday and is being held on $70,000 bond.
Investigators believe Hawkins intentionally left her daughters in the vehicle for over 15 hours, from Tuesday night until midday Wednesday, when temperatures were in the 80s.
“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,” Sheriff Hierholzer said.
Police said she tried to bathe the toddlers and did not seek immediate care “because she did not want to get in trouble.” Hierholzer says Hawkins then told doctors that the girls collapsed while smelling flowers at a nearby lake.
The girls, 1-year-old Brynn Hawkins and 2-year-old Addyson Overgard-Eddy, died in a San Antonio hospital Thursday. Hierholzer says autopsies have been ordered.
Magistrate records list no attorney to comment on Hawkins’ behalf.
Kerrville is 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio.
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