A burning car with doors chained shut, and a 3-year-old victim

A burned car where a 3-year-old was killed in the Springfield Gardens neighbourhood of New York. Photo / Dave Sanders, The New York Times

The blaze was so intense that the heat melted the inside of the car doors. The vehicle's back doors had been chained shut to prevent anyone inside from escaping.

Trapped in the rear seat was a 3-year-old, Zoey Pereira. Her father had fled the car as it burst into flames, the authorities said.

The police said that they were investigating the child's death, which took place Sunday night in Queens, as a homicide and that the girl's father, whom the police did not immediately identify, had been taken into custody for questioning.

The father was found a short distance from the car, the police said. He was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center's burn unit, where he was recovering from extensive burns.

A co-worker of Zoey's father said the man had been distraught in recent weeks over a custody battle with Zoey's mother.

Investigators were looking into what led to a seemingly premeditated act: They found two gas canisters — one in front of the car and one behind the driver's seat — as well as a propane tank in the trunk, according to a city official close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

The incident was reported shortly before 9pm Sunday, when the authorities responded to a 911 call for a vehicle on fire near Baisley Pond Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, the police said.

A witness told investigators that the girl's father ran from the car in flames and jumped into the pond in the park, the city official said. The witness ran to give him a blanket. The father turned to the person and said, "I have my child in the car."

The witness also told the police he had seen the father driving erratically, the official said. The car had mounted the sidewalk and turned around before stopping at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard.

The official said the two rear doors of the Audi sedan had been chained shut from the inside. The heat had melted the doors' handles down enough for firefighters to pry them open and free the toddler.

Firefighters pulled her out and began chest compressions, eventually taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, but she did not survive. The police said they have yet to determine the cause of death.

Photos of the car showed the extent of the blaze. The plastic and leather upholstery was charred to a crisp, and fabric hung like stalactites. A chain was seen on the floor in the rear of the vehicle.

At the scene Monday, a few relatives laid flowers on the side of the road. They declined to talk to a reporter.

On a Facebook page, a man who represented himself as Zoey's father posted pictures of himself with the little girl. He is a 39-year-old construction worker from Valley Stream, a village on Long Island, according to the page. Just hours before the fire, he had updated the cover photo, showing the girl sitting in a room decorated with pink and purple balloons.

Written by: Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and Ashley Southall
Photographs by: Dave Sanders

© 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES