GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids woman has been sentenced in connection with the death of her 18-month-old daughter, who asphyxiated after being left unattended in a vehicle last year.
Angelica Linda Arechiga, 27, was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Kent County Circuit Court to 45 days in jail and 24 months of probation for leaving a child in a vehicle resulting in death. She was given one day of jail credit.
Prosecutors say Arechiga went into a South Division Avenue store around noon on Oct. 9, 2024, to buy lunch for her husband, leaving her children ages 18 months, 2, and 3 in the truck. None of the children were in car or booster seats.
When she returned approximately 13 minutes later, one of the children alerted her that the toddler was unresponsive. Arechiga discovered her daughter with her head and neck wedged between the driver’s seat and door. She ran inside the store and called for help.
Responders performed CPR before the child was taken to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead an hour later. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be accidental asphyxiation via wedge.
Defense attorney Nicholas Gowings called it a tragic accident that will weigh on Arechiga forever.
“She can only do better by what she does forward,” Gowings said. “That is by making sure this never happens again.”
In court, Arechiga said, “I know the mistakes that I did in the past cost the life of one of my children. It’s something I truly regret. I could’ve done better.”
Judge Paul Denenfeld noted that while the outcome was devastating, he did not believe Arechiga intended to harm her child.
“These are some of the hardest decisions that I must make,” the judge said.
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