OPELOUSAS, La. (NEWS 15) — St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said a woman was arrested after an infant in her care died.

He added Sarah Sonnier, 59, of Opelousas, was charged with negligent homicide.

According to Sheriff Guidroz, it happened in the Tulip Drive area just outside the Opelousas city limits on October 27. The sheriff said a deputy responded to a call about an unresponsive infant and found people performing CPR on the baby when he arrived at the scene. He added the responding deputy took over performing CPR until EMS arrived, but despite those efforts, the baby never regained consciousness.

Sheriff Guidroz said the detective with the Juvenile Investigative Division learned the infant was dropped off to a babysitter around 4:45 a.m. He added the baby was restrained in a safety seat at the time and was left in the car seat unattended until a little before 7 a.m. when someone noticed the child was slumped in the seat and unresponsive.

It should be noted the child had been taken out of the car but was not taken out of the car safety seat. Safety officials have warned that when a car seat is removed from the vehicle, the baby can slouch forward and cut off their airway.