Couple's 'miracle baby' died after baby sitter allegedly left her in hot car

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A New Mexico baby sitter was charged in the death of a 2-year-old girl who was left in a car seat for hours inside a hot car, police said.

Tammie Brooks, 41, was supposed to take the child to day care Sept. 17, but Hobbs police said she instead went to her other job and forgot the toddler in the car around 6:30 a.m.

Police said Brooks even ran an errand before realizing that the child was still in the car. Officers arrived around 1:30 p.m. to find the child dead in the car, according to a news release.

The child's parents, Demi Petrowski and Zachary Hasheme, told KOB4 that young Zariah, their only child, was a miracle baby.

"I had six miscarriages previously to having my daughter," Petrowski said. "I remember praying every single day, nonstop."

The parents said they were emotionally shattered, and wouldn't "wish this pain and this hurt" on their worst enemy.

Petrowski urged others to "always look at the back seat of the car, and if there is a child in there, or you hear a child screaming, please just, you know, help. As for day care centers, if you know a child is not there at their appointed time, please contact the parents or someone on the emergency list right away."

Autopsy results were pending.

Brooks was charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death, a first degree felony. She was being held at the Hobbs City Jail, awaiting arraignment.

A GoFundMe was set up to raise funeral funds.