Evans first-grader dies while trapped in vehicle

By Susan McCord

Sunday, Aug 22, 2010

Heat exhaustion is suspected in the death of an Evans first-grader found in her parents' car about 6 p.m. Sunday.

"She had somehow gotten into the family vehicle and could not get out," Columbia County Deputy Coroner Bonnie Holloway said.

The body of Sydney Stanley was taken to Atlanta for an autopsy, the results of which should be back Monday morning, the deputy coroner said.

It appeared that the 6-year-old girl, a student at Riverside Elementary, was overcome by the heat, Holloway said.

Her parents, Jennifer and Michael Stanley, believed their daughter was next door at a neighbor's playing, according to Holloway.

The vehicle, a 2009 Buick Enclave, was parked in the driveway of the family's home on Aylesbury Drive in the Stratford subdivision.

Authorities believe she was inside the car as long as three hours on a day when temperatures outside reached 95 degrees, the coroner said.

No foul play is suspected.