Death of Jacksonville child left in hot car becomes fourth case in Florida this year

An 8-month-old baby girl is dead after she was left in a car for about an hour while her father was working and the temperature soared inside the sun-soaked vehicle, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

The child becomes the fourth hot car-related fatality in Jacksonville since 1998, according to the National Safety Council.

It's at least the third case this year in Florida and 28th nationwide, according to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety organization.

The state's Department of Children and Families child fatality website also reports a fourth case on July 8 in Walton County not included in the Kids and Safety report, a 3-month-old infant dying after being accidentally left in a vehicle while the family was vacationing there.

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"Approximately 87% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger, and the majority (56%) were unknowingly left by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver," the organization said. "Although we are approaching fall, children are still at risk for hot car tragedies."

What happened in Tuesday's case?

The latest death was reported about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday outside a home in the 2200 block of Newberry Road near Broward Road, the Sheriff's Office said. Officers and firefighters were called to help an unresponsive child, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Sheriff's Office said the girl's father had parked at the home to do some work inside, then remembered she was still in his vehicle an hour later. He ran to check on her, then called 911 and began CPR.

Investigators did not initially know how hot it was in the vehicle when the baby was found. Temperatures outside reached a high of 88, according to the National Weather Service.

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Research shows that vehicles become dangerously hot quickly, even when the outside temperature is moderate, the National Safety Council reports. Even on a relatively cool 72-degree day, an internal vehicle temperature can reach 117 degrees within an hour, 80% of that heat increase within the first half hour.

In general, experts say an average 40-degree increase in internal temperatures occurs within the first hour when outside temperatures are 72 to 96 degrees.

No charges have been filed as the case is still under investigation.

Stories basically remain the same

Florida's other two heat-related deaths in vehicles this year also were very young children.

On July 11 a 3-year-old child was unknowingly left in a vehicle in Miami Gardens and died. The child was in the vehicle for hours outside a school, local media reported.

Eight days later the same thing occurred to an 11-month-old baby in Tallahassee. The boy's mother inadvertently left him in her car as she worked her shift at the Big Bend Hospice, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

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Northeast Florida has suffered some high-profile cases over the years.

In April of last year, Jacksonville child care co-owner Darryl Allyn Ewing was sentenced to spend a weekend in jail for seven years on the anniversary of the death of a baby he left in the center's van in 2019's summer heat, according to his plea agreement.

The sentence came after he pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the May 22, 2019, death of 4-month-old Brooklyn Blount at the Love and Hope Daycare Center on Lenox Avenue, court records said. Ewing brought several children to the center about 8:25 a.m. but forgot to take Brooklyn out of her car seat, police said.

In May 2015, Columbia County Public Defender Young Kwon was not charged in the death of his 16-month-old daughter after she was mistakenly left all day in a hot car in Lake City. He had forgotten to take her to child care that morning and did not discover her until he returned home that afternoon, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Statistics don't lie

The National Safety Council states that 102 child hot car deaths have been reported in Florida since 1998, out of 935 nationwide. This year's 28 deaths so far nationwide are already outpacing 2021's total of 23.

On average, 38 children under the age of 15 die each year from heat stroke after being left in a vehicle, the safety council reports, and almost every state has experienced at least one death of that kind since 1998. And in 2018 and 2019, a record number of 53 children died each year after being left in a hot vehicle, it reports.

Kids and Car Safety reports that another 7,300 children nationwide have survived being stuck in a hot vehicle since 1990 but deal with  "varying types and severities of injuries."

Summer is over, but not the danger

While temperatures are going down for the fall season, children are still at risk for hot car tragedies. Kids and Car Safety has documented hot car deaths of children on days when temperatures were in the 60s.

The agency also says there is technology to prevent hot car deaths.

As part of the infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is required to issue a regulation mandating all new cars have technology to prevent hot car deaths by late 2023, Kids and Car Safety reports.

Many new cars already flash "Look in Rear Seat" reminder messages on the gauge display when the driver switches off the ignition.

Janette Fennell, Kids and Car Safety founder and president, said parents can add occupant detection technology to their vehicles today, referring to Jacksonville's latest death when she said that system could have helped "this sweet angel before it was too late."

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

Safety Tips for Parents and Caregivers

• Create simple habits to help keep a child safe and make sure they are never left alone in a car.

• Place the child’s diaper bag or item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is with you.

• Make it a habit of opening the back door every time you park to ensure no one is left behind. To enforce this habit, put something you can’t start your day without in the back seat, like an employee badge or cellphone.

• Ask your childcare provider to call you right away if your child hasn’t arrived as scheduled. 

• Clearly announce and confirm who is getting each child out of the vehicle. Miscommunication can lead to thinking someone else removed the child.

• Ensure children cannot get into a parked car by keeping it locked at all times, especially in the garage or driveway. Ask neighbors and visitors to do the same, and never leave car keys within reach of children.

• Use childproofing knob covers and door alarms to prevent children from exiting your home unnoticed.

• Teach children to honk the horn or turn on hazard lights if they become stuck inside a car.

• If a child is missing, immediately check the inside, floorboards and trunk of all vehicles in the area carefully, even if they’re locked.

Source: Kids and Car Safety

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville child becomes fourth hot car death in Florida this year