Florida Teacher Leaves Infant In Hot Car For Nine Hours, Baby Dies

A baby boy died in the parking lot of Deltona Middle School in Florida on Friday when a teacher accidentally left the child in the hot vehicle. Reports indicate that the 6-month-old baby boy was left in the hot SUV for nine hours.

The Daily Mail reports that the teacher was supposed to be caring for the child when he was left in a hot SUV in the school parking lot. It was noted that the sheriff’s office is investigating the child’s death. However, currently no criminal charges are being pursued. The sheriff’s office says that they received a call about a child in a vehicle at Deltona Middle School at approximately 4:00 p.m. Sadly, the child had already passed away from the heat.

Initially a school deputy responded to the call, but it was already too late. The child had been dead for “some time” and likely had been in the vehicle for about nine hours. The outdoor temperature was in the 80s but the temperatures inside of the car would have been much higher. In fact, the Humane Society notes that when it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the temperature inside your car can heat up to 99 degrees Fahrenheit within 10 minutes.

The name of the teacher involved in the incident has not been released. However, WFTV reports that the teacher was not the parent of the deceased baby boy. The Department of Children and Family is investigating the family of the baby at this time, but did not indicate if they were investigating the teacher who was charged with the care of the child at the time of the accident.

The Deltona Middle School principal responded to the incident sending a recorded call to parents on Friday night. The call outlined that a “horrific tragedy” took place in the school parking lot and that their “heartfelt sympathies” went out to the family of the child.

“As many of you are aware, on Friday afternoon a horrific tragedy occurred on our campus. A six-month old baby, who resided with one of our faculty members passed away. We are deeply saddened and send out our heartfelt sympathies to the family.”

The Volusia County School District, under which the Deltona Middle School operates, also released a statement about the hot vehicle death of the child.

“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family and the Deltona Middle School community. This tragedy has broken the hearts of all of us in the school district. We will stand by the family with love and compassion.”

[Image Credit: WFTV screenshot]