Five-year-old boy dies after foster mum leaves him in hot car for 7 hours

The boy, who was allegedly left in the vehicle while his foster mother went to work, is the 10th hot-car fatality in America this year.

A five-year-old died after his foster mother allegedly left him trapped in a vehicle for seven hours in 32 degree heat, police said, in the 10th hot-car fatality the US has seen this year.

The tragedy happened on Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska, The New York Post reports, when Juanita Pinon allegedly left her foster son, Dionicio Perez, inside a scorching SUV in a parking lot outside the beauty salon where she worked.

Prosecutors said the 40-year-old, who has a rap sheet dating back to 2016, parked her car and then went to work. It wasn’t clear whether Dionicio’s death was intentional or an accident.

Dionicio Perez was found unresponsive in an SUV in a parking lot outside of a beauty salon in Omaha, Nebraska. Picture: GoFundMe

Juanita Pinon is believed to have left her foster child in the car for seven hours. Picture: Omaha PD

Dionicio’s body temperate reached 40.5 degrees and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Ms Pinon, who apparently has five other children under her care, was arrested and charged with child abuse by neglect, resulting in death, and faces up to 20 years in prison. Her bond was set at $US2 million ($A2.9 million), according to a local NBC affiliate.

The car was parked outside the beauty salon where Ms Pinon is employed. Picture: KETV

This wasn’t Ms Pinon’s first brush with the law – she was previously convicted in 2016 of theft by deception for swindling non-English speaking rental tenants out of $US12,000 ($A17,767), according to reports.

The young boy’s biological father, Pablo Lopez, and his stepmother, Jenny, had reportedly pursued custody, but authorities assured them he was in a good hands.

Mr Lopez is trying to get custody of Dionicio’s twin sister, who turned five in June, according to a GoFundMe established for funds to obtain a lawyer and get “his sister safely home”.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission