Greenfield girl, 3, dies in driveway accident - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Police in Greenfield are investigating the death of a child who was found unresponsive, hanging from a car window.

Officers were called to a home in the 200 block of Pixy Court in Greenfield Sunday on the report of an unresponsive child. When they arrived, they found 27-year-old Jama Reynolds performing CPR on her three-year-old daughter, Payton Goff.

Reynolds told police she had been in the garage with Goff and her eight-year-old son. The girl didn't want to go inside, so she was allowed to play in the garage. Reynolds returned to find Goff hanging outside of the car, which was parked outside of the open garage door, with her head inside the partially open driver's door window.

"I don't know why she went in, what they needed to do, I just know that that's what they were doing. They went into the home, when they came back out a few minutes later, that's when they found the young girl," said Greenfield Police Maj. Derek Towle.

Goff was taken to Hancock Regional Hospital, before being transported to Riley Children's Hospital, where she passed away Monday.

"It just breaks our heart as a parent, as any law enforcement officer having to arrive on that," Towle said. "She was trying to probably climb into the vehicle through that somewhat open window."

Scratch marks on the side of the car show what was likely a struggle by the child, who got stuck in the front part of the window, near the driver's side mirror. The tricycle Goff used to climb up to the window was at the end of the driveway.

"Tricycle moved out from underneath the child and then the child got stuck in that window and couldn't get out and, basically, strangled," Towle said.

Greenfield police are continuing their investigation, but do not anticipate charges being filed in the accident.

Police recommend parents keep their car windows rolled up, or if they want to keep them open in the hot weather, to leave enough room that a child's head cannot become stuck in the opening.