ABC News June 17, 2019

Mom arrested after 1-year-old daughter dies in hot car: Prosecutor

WATCH: What happens to your body in a hot car?

A New Jersey mother has been arrested after her 1-year-old daughter died from being left in a hot car for over 2 hours, prosecutors said.

Chaya Shurkin, 25, was arrested on Sunday and is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Ocean County Prosecutor's Office
Chaya Shurkin in a police booking photo.
(MORE: Florida day care owner arrested after leaving baby girl hot van, killing her, police say)

The case began on May 6, when officers responded to a Lakewood home for a report of a child in distress, prosecutors said.

Shurkin's daughter, who was 21 months old, was left alone in Shurkin's car in the heat for about 2.5 hours, prosecutors said.

The temperature reached 71 degrees in nearby Trenton that day.

(MORE: 2-year-old boy rescued from hot car in dramatic moment caught on video)

The officers arrived on scene and found a neighbor trying to give the baby CPR, prosecutors said. She was taken to a hospital where she died.

"The investigation determined that the act of leaving the child in the car unattended for such a long period of time was the cause and manner of the child’s death," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a statement on Monday.

Shurkin has not yet appeared in court, according to prosecutors.

(MORE: After record high number of hot car deaths, here's a guide to keep kids safe this summer)

Hot car deaths reached a record level last year with at least 52 children killed, from California to Tennessee to Mississippi, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.

Children's bodies heat up much faster than adults' do, according to the National Safety Council. Children's internal organs begin to shut down once their core body temperature reaches 104 degrees -- and it takes very little time for a car to get too hot for children, according to the council.

Click here for a list of hot car safety tips.