N.J. mom charged in death of toddler left in hot car after 'miscommunication'

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (WITI) -- A 25-year-old New Jersey mother is facing criminal charges over the death of her toddler daughter in a hot car in May.

Prosecutors said Lakewood resident Chaya Shurkin was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Officers responding to a report of a child in distress at Shurkin's residence on May 6 found a neighbor performing CPR on the 21-month-old, who died at a hospital later that day, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a statement.

“A thorough and extensive investigation revealed that the child had been left alone in Shurkin's motor vehicle for approximately two-and-one-half hours with the car turned off, in the heat,” he said.

A law enforcement source told NBC 4 that Shurkin brought the girl home after she was taken to day care, but she refused to go inside, and “there was a miscommunication about whether the toddler's mother or father would bring the toddler in from the car.”