Paralysed woman dies stranded in hot car after running out of gas

Megan Oxley, 36, was in the car with her young niece and nephew but the minors were unable to help her out of the vehicle

(Amber Jones/Facebook)

A Missouri woman died after she became trapped in a hot car with two small children inside.

Megan Oxley, who was paralysed from the waist down, was travelling with her niece and nephew when the tragedy unfolded on Friday.

Oaxley, 36, had been visiting her sister in the city of Kenneth and was driving on Highway 412 when her vehicle ran out of gas.

Concerned family members reported Oaxley and the two children missing on Saturday after Oaxley failed to answer their calls.

“I just assumed that maybe she stayed with someone or maybe someone had come and got her, but no one was able to get ahold of her, and the next morning we were pretty panicked, we called the cops and got them involved,” Oaxley’s sister Amber Jones told Kait8.

The Dunklin County Sheriff’s Department eventually managed to locate Oaxley’s car.

Authorities said that Oaxley was stuck in the driver’s seat as temperatures reached 100 degrees and was unable to get out of the vehicle due to her condition. The children were unable to help their aunt.

“We pinged the phone, pinged the young lady’s phone, and found that she was somewhere near county road 522,” Sheriff Bob Holder told Kait8. “There was indication that they were outside the vehicle, there were footprints outside the vehicle they had been outside a little.”

The minors were flown by helicopter to the hospital but are now in good condition, according to their mother Melissa Jones.

“She was happy when I saw her last, she was smiling and talking to me. She was just so full of life,” Ms Jones said about her sister. “I am so thankful, I am so happy [the children are’ alive. I was terrified, very terrified.”