LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — June 20, 2010 is Conni Lowe’s worst day… the day she lost her granddaughter, Holly Judy. At the time, she had not met the five-month-old.
"I met Holly for the first time at the funeral," Conni said on the eight year anniversary of Holly’s death.
Judy was left in her mother’s car on June 19, 2010, while her mother went into an office to pay a bill. It was a hot day outside: the temperature reached the mid-80’s. Holly was forgotten, only to be found and died the next day.
"You suffer when you’re in that kind of heat. It was an 85 degree day. She was in there for at least an hour in six minutes," Conni said.
The grandmother said she spent many sleepless nights after her granddaughter’s death and found comfort in an organization devoted to preventing deaths just like Holly’s.
According to kidsandcars.org, a child dies every nine days from being left in a hot car.
"The biggest age for this to happen to is 1 to 3-years-old, because they’re usually facing backwards," Conni said.
As many hazy summer days are expected in the coming months, Lowe says she hopes no one will ever go through her pain.
"Don’t be thinking about everything else," Conni said. Your phone, your activities, what are you going to do later — focus on where you’re going and you have a child in your car."
