Baby left to die in hot car after dad refused to let police break window

A Las Vegas father was arrested after he refused to let police officers break the window of his brand new car to save his dying 1-year-old daughter.

Sidney Deal waved down police officers after he accidentally left his baby girl Sayah in a hot car on Monday with the keys inside the vehicle, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Officers offered to break the window, call a tow truck or get a locksmith to assist in getting the girl out, but the father instead asked to call his brother, police say.

His brother soon arrived at the scene and wrapped his shirt around his hand and offered to smash the window.

But Deal stopped him, claiming he didn't have enough money to fix a broken window.

The brother then called the pair's mum to organise a locksmith.

Sidney Deal and his daughter.

Deal also got his girlfriend to call a tow truck but she hung up after he didn't agree with the price quoted.

After wasting valuable time, police smashed the window after noticing the girl had become unresponsive.

She died at the scene.

Detectives interviewed Deal's brother, who said he received a call claiming Deal accidentally locked baby Sayah in the car but had the air conditioning running, KVVU reported.

The cause of death is pending, but authorities believe she had been trapped in the car for more than an hour.

He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of child abuse or neglect causing substantial bodily harm, the outlet reported. He is being held on $20,000 bond.