Authorities said a 1-year-old boy was found dead inside a vehicle in Florida last week amid hot temperatures.
Officials told WESH-TV that officers were sent to the 5000 block of Indian Hill Road in Pine Hills around 3:40 p.m. They found a boy, identified as Jace Leslie, in a vehicle outside a home that is being used as a daycare.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office added that they believe the boy was left in a vehicle. Officials said Jace was supposed to be transported to the daycare by a caregiver, but the person didn’t drop the child off.
“The initial investigation indicates baby Jace was left inside of a vehicle in a rear-facing car seat for several hours by a caregiver while the caregiver was at work,” deputies told ClickOrlando. “When the caregiver arrived to pick him up from the daycare location at 3:42 p.m. Friday, baby Jace was instead discovered unresponsive in the car, where he had been for several hours,” deputies added.
After police arrived, a neighbor, Alton Williams, said he saw the mother arrive about 30 minutes later.
“When she got out the car, you just heard her yelling and then she was running, trying to get through the tape and then all the officers, they had stopped her,” Williams said.
Sheriff’s deputies said the daycare had no involvement in the child’s death.
The Florida toddler is the 22nd child to die in a hot car this year, according to No Heat Stroke. In 2019, 52 children died due to heatstroke in cars.
Temperatures in Orlando at the time reached about 87 degrees F.
