GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A mother told a judge she could have done better when it came to caring for her youngest child who died after being left unattended in a vehicle.

Angelica Linda Arechiga, grieving the loss of her child, stood in a Kent County Circuit courtroom on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to be sentenced for what was described as a “tragic accident.”

Arechiga, 27, was charged with leaving a child in a vehicle resulting in death last year after her 18-month-old daughter died in the mother’s care.

Grand Rapids police said Arechiga’s daughter got her head wedged between the driver’s side seat and door.

Arechiga had left the toddler as well as two other young children in the truck on Oct. 9, 2024, as she went into a South Division Avenue store to buy her husband lunch. The husband was at work.

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