S Carolina hot car death suspect resigns from teaching post

WALTERBORO, S.C. – A South Carolina woman charged with murder for the death of her teenage daughter in a hot car has resigned from her post as a public school teacher.

Colleton County School District spokesman Sean Gruber said the school board accepted longtime educator Rita Pangalangan’s resignation Wednesday. Authorities say Pangalangan and her friend Larry King left the disabled 13-year-old inside a hot car for five hours on Aug. 5.

Investigators say Pangalangan and King checked on the girl twice before discovering the car doors were locked. Authorities said the teen was dead by the time Pangalangan and King unlocked the car. Both face murder charges.

One week after the incident, Pangalangan’s daughter was also accused of leaving her two children alone in a car. The children were not seriously injured.