Mother charged in infant death

MIAMI, May 22 (UPI) -- A Miami woman left her 18-month-old son unattended in her truck at her workplace and the child died, police said.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Friday that police arrested Elizabeth Cuesta and charged the mother with manslaughter and culpable negligence in the death of her young son, whose name was not reported.

Cuesta's son was found unresponsive in a child seat inside Cuesta's truck on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Family friends said Cuesta apparently had taken the child to work with her accidentally after forgetting to drop him off at day care, the newspaper reported.

Investigators allege Cuesta left the child unattended in the vehicle while she was working at a PetSmart store.

The national organization, Kids and Cars, said the child's death represented the fourth time in 2009 that a child died as result of being left alone in a car.

The Sun-Sentinel said in 2008 alone, 42 children died in similar situations nationwide.