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Kokomo 1-year-old suffocates under folded SUV seat

SWAYZEE, Ind. (AP) – Authorities say a 1-year-old central Indiana girl has died after her parents were unaware the rear seat of an SUV had collapsed on top of her.

Grant County Sheriff Department Detective Erin Keppeler says Khloe Villarreal of Kokomo died Sunday afternoon while the unidentified parents helped a relative move belongings.

Keppeler says the girl was sleeping on the seat when her mother pressed a button that automatically folded the seat down so the woman could load the rear of the vehicle. Keppeler says there was miscommunication between the parents about the whereabouts of the girl and it wasn’t until sometime later they found her unresponsive under the folded seat.

Keppeler says resuscitation efforts failed.

The Marion Chronicle-Tribune reports a coroner determined the girl died of asphyxiation due to chest compression.