Two daycare workers arrested in child's death

PORTALES - One child died, another is in critical condition and two Portales daycare workers have been arrested for leaving the children in a hot vehicle for about 90 minutes on Tuesday afternoon.

Sandi Taylor, 31, and her mother Mary E. Taylor, 67, are charged with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm and child abuse resulting in death, police officials said. Both are being held the Roosevelt County Detention Center on Wednesday awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Family members said Maliyah Jones, 22 months, died at Roosevelt General Hospital.

The other child, identified in court records as Aubrianna Loya, under the age of 3, was transferred to a Lubbock-area hospital. "We don't know if she'll make it or not," Assistant District Attorney Brian Stover said late Tuesday night.

A Portales police news release said officers responded to the in-home daycare at 1408 S. Ave. C at 3:25 p.m. Tuesday for a report of two children having seizures. They found two children not breathing and began lifesaving attempts.

Stover said police believe Sandi Taylor took six children to a local park, while Mary Taylor stayed at the home with four other children. When Sandi Taylor returned to the Taylor Tots daycare, she took four children inside and left two in the vehicle.

"The worker was intending to go back and get (the two left behind), but she got distracted by something - she doesn't know what - and then began to fill out some paperwork," Stover said. "They put the children down for naps and did not notice the two missing at the time. A short time later, they realized it and found the children and began to attempt lifesaving procedures and called 911."

Portales' temperatures were in the mid-90s on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported.

The Kids and Cars safety organization reports an average of 37 children die each year in hot cars in the United States. Most are age 3 and under.

Neither Stover nor Police Lt. Chris Williams could remember a child dying after being left in a vehicle in the Clovis-Portales area in recent years.