CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Two people said they heard a mother's screams for help when she discovered her two-year-old daughter trapped inside a car outside a mobile home Tuesday night.
Police were called to the Parkway Trailer Park in the 6700 block of Jefferson Davis Highway for a report of a child who was not breathing around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The child's mother, according to neighbors, had come to the mobile home to style someone's hair.
"The child didn't have shoes or any clothing on, just a diaper," said one woman. "Anyway, my friend says she knocked on the door, she comes inside, she was supposed to be coming to do her hair. She didn't know the child was with her."
Then five to ten minutes later, the neighbor reported that the woman said she was going outside to check on her daughter, Mikayla, who police said had been left unattended inside the car.
One man, who spoke to CBS 6 on the condition of anonymity, said he was making a snack when he heard screaming.
“Got up to start making some Pho -- you know, Cambodian food. While I was putting food in a bowl, I heard yelling. I didn't think much about it, so I sat down and started eating. That's when she ran in there with her baby, talking about, ‘Somebody call the police, my baby is dead.’"
Police said Mikayala Thurston was pronounced dead at VCU Medical Center.
A preliminary investigation found that the little girl was left inside the car and that her neck and head became trapped between a car window and car door frame.
At the mother's home off Turner Road Wednesday, the driveway was littered with no trespassing signs. Mikayla's grandfather said the family is devastated over the loss of his grandbaby he affectionately called "Twinkle."
CBS 6 checked with the Chesterfield Sheriff’s Department late Wednesday. They said no one is in custody for the girl’s death.
Police said their investigation into the child's death is ongoing. If you have information that could help investigators, call Chesterfield police at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
