A Tragic Past for Parents of Toddler Who Died in Hot Car

'Miracle baby' Zariah Hasheme's mother had 6 previous miscarriages
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2019 9:25 AM CDT
6 Miscarriages, a 'Miracle,' Then a Tragedy
Tammie Brooks.   (Hobbs Police Department, via KCBD)

Demi Petrowski had six miscarriages before a "miracle baby" arrived for her and her husband, Zachary Hasheme: daughter Zariah. Now the New Mexico couple is mourning their only child after a babysitter allegedly left the 2-year-old in a hot car. Police in Hobbs say 41-year-old Tammie Brooks was tasked with dropping Zariah off at day care on Tuesday morning, but Brooks tells cops she forgot Zariah was in the car and went straight to work instead, per KOB. Brooks is said to have found Zariah in the car when she went out in the early afternoon to run an errand. The 911 call came in around 1:30pm, and Zariah was pronounced dead at the scene, per the New Zealand Herald.

"I hear Demi screaming on the other line saying that Zariah's dead and I didn't know what to do," Hasheme recalls to KOB on his reaction when he first heard the news. "I slammed on my brakes and pulled over." He notes how he and his wife had given up hope of having kids after Petrowski's previous pregnancy troubles, until Zariah "popped up and blessed all our hearts," per the Herald. Brooks was arrested and charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death; she's being held in Hobbs City Jail until her arraignment. KCBD reports there will be an autopsy on Zariah. Meanwhile, Zariah's parents are now warning others to be vigilant and to "always look at the back seat of a car," per Petrowski. "I would not wish this pain and this hurt upon my worst enemy," she says. (More hot cars stories.)

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