A Florida dad’s world changed forever when he went to pick up his 1-year-old son from daycare, and staff revealed that the toddler had never arrived. The child, who had actually been in his father’s car the entire day, was pronounced dead just moments later.
On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the unidentified man went to Bayfront Child Development Center in St. Petersburg after work to pick up his kid, according to reports from local outlets ABC Action News, ABC 7 Sarasota and FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
After arriving at the center around 5 p.m. local time and speaking with employees, the man came to the distressing realization that he had never actually dropped off his child.
Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department, told FOX 13 that “at that point, then the father kind of realized what was going on and went back out to the car.”
The young boy was found unresponsive in the backseat of his dad’s car, where he had been all day, as temperatures hit a record high of 91 degrees, the outlet reported.
Bayfront Health Child Development Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
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Emergency responders were then called to the parking lot, where they tried to perform CPR to save the 1-year-old. He was pronounced dead on the scene, however, according to FOX 13. Investigators believe he spent the entire day in the hot vehicle.
The dad forgot to drop off his son that morning because he had brought him along to an appointment, which was not part of their usual routine, Fernandez told FOX 13.
After the appointment, he was supposed to drop the toddler at Bayfront, before heading back home, where he works, the outlet reported.
Lindsay Judah, a division chief with St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, told FOX 13 that “in just ten minutes, it can become 20 degrees hotter inside a vehicle with the doors closed.” The toddler spent hours in his dad’s car.
An autopsy is being performed, and police are actively investigating to determine the exact details surrounding the child’s death, and to see if charges can be filed, according to ABC Action News and ABC 7 Sarasota.
Judah told FOX 13 that the last time St. Petersburg Fire Rescue saw a death like the young boy’s was in 2017.
To prevent further tragedies, she said drivers should “create reminders” for themselves when a child is in their vehicle — specifically, a reminder that “prompts them to look in the back seat.”
Options the fire chief suggested include putting the child’s shoe or stuffed animal in the front seat.
“That is our action that we’re asking our parents and caregivers to take,” Judah told the outlet. “Take action.”
