Father charged in heat death

ROUND ROCK (KXAN) - Kesen Hu, who left his son in a hot car in the back parking lot of Freescale Semiconductor, has been charged with endangering a child and was booked into the Wiliamson County Jail.

His 18-month-old son, Daniel Hu, died in the overheated car last Wednesday. Hu,34, was being held on $20,000 bail. In his arrest affidavit, Hu said he forgot to drop his child off at the day care center.

A call came into 911 around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday from a passerby who saw the toddler in the back seat of the SUV sitting in the parking lot at 7700 West Parmer Lane.

Austin police said Hu left his son in the car which was not running. The windows were rolled up, and the temperature had topped out at 106 degrees.

"Obviously, a child being in a car for an extended period on a hot day like this, the heat probably contributed to the death of the child," said Dennis Farris with the Austin Police Department.

It can take less than five minutes for the temperature inside a hot car to reach 120 degrees.

While it is not clear if heat caused the boy's death, police said they do not suspect foul play and are calling this a tragedy.