2-year-old in care of babysitter dies after being left in hot car, Hallandale Beach police say
An investigation is underway in Hallandale Beach after police said a 2-year-old died after being left inside a hot car while in the care of a babysitter over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
According to the Hallandale Beach Police Department, officers responded to a local hospital around 1:35 p.m. Sunday after getting word that the child was left in the car in the 900 block of Northwest 7th Avenue.
The toddler was rushed to the hospital and was later pronounced dead, police said.
Investigators said the case remains active and is still in its early stages. No additional details, including how long the child may have been inside the vehicle or whether any charges are expected, have been released.
Second toddler dies in Broward hot car tragedy
For the second time in a week, a toddler has died after being left in a hot car in Broward County.
Dispatch recordings reveal the child had been left in a car for approximately three hours before being discovered.
Officers responded to a home in the 900 block of Northwest 7th Avenue, where the child had been found. According to police, the toddler's mother had to go to work, and the child was picked up by a babysitter and brought to that house, where the babysitter lives.
"The babysitter was responsible for the child and that's where the babysitter lives," said Police Chief of Staff Grace Mariot.
With temperatures reaching the 90s on Sunday, police say the child was rushed to the hospital but it was too late. Nearby resident Sheryl Orr expressed her shock and sadness, saying, "It's terrible. Horrible. But I didn't know there was any babysitting going on."
Hallandale Beach police are working with the state attorney's office to determine if any charges will be filed.
This marks the second such tragedy in a week.
Hallandale Beach Police urge vigilance after child left unattended for hours
Last Monday, a toddler was found deceased in an SUV outside a Plantation daycare, after the child's father realized at the end of the day that he had never dropped his son off at the facility.
First responders raced to A World of Discovery Academy on Northwest 4th Street around 5:40 p.m. on June 29 after the child was located.
"Unfortunately, the dad arrived to pick up his child. And when he arrived in the parking lot, he realized he forgot the child. He never dropped off the child at the school. He just went straight from home to his work. And, unfortunately, when he arrived at school, he realized the situation," World of Discovery Academy owner Leslie Novoa told CBS News Miami.
According to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, the first hot car death in Florida this year occurred in Winter Haven on March 31, followed by a second in Riverview on June 20.
Since 1990, at least 1,181 children have died in hot cars nationwide, while another 7,500 have survived with injuries ranging in severity, according to the organization.
About 86% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger, and the majority were unknowingly left behind by a parent or caregiver, Kids and Car Safety said.
In the wake of these heartbreaking incidents, police are urging parents and caretakers to be extra mindful—especially during extreme heat—when a child is a passenger in their car.
"I know sometimes we are absent-minded, focused on other things, but make sure you put something valuable in the back seat to remind you to check before you leave the car," said Mariot.