The wife of a Miami police officer was found dead in her husband’s patrol car after she became locked in the back seat during a sweltering summer afternoon.
56-year-old Clara Paulino was found dead on Friday by her husband and son just after 5 p.m. on a day when temps were 92 degrees, according to Mathew Reyes of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police.
Officer Aristides Paulino works nights, and returned home from his shift and went to sleep around noon. When he woke up around 5 p.m., he found Clara’s cell phone on the back patio, but was unable to find her.
Paulino and his son found her in the back seat of his police car for reasons unknown. The husband and the son performed first aid and CPR, but Clara was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital, according to Reyes.
Officer Michael Vega with the Miami Police Department said patrol cars like Paulino’s can only be opened from the outside, and have partitions separating the back from the front, making it impossible for someone inside to climb over the seat.
The Miami Herald reported investigators are treating Clara’s death as a ‘horrific accident.”
