Florida 2-year-old girl dies after being left in hot car, deputies say
The toddler's death marks the second child in Florida to have died after being left in a car in the past two weeks. Temperatures can be 40 to 50 degrees hotter inside a vehicle.
Preventing hot car related deaths with children
The sweltering temperatures of summer act as a reminder to never leave a child inside a vehicle with the engine off for any amount of time.
ORANGE CITY, Fla. - A 2-year-old girl died in Florida on Thursday after reportedly being left in a hot car for hours, reports FOX 35 Orlando.
According to the Volusia Sheriff's Office, a family left their home in Orange City to grab a bite for lunch in DeLand. They returned to their home shortly before 3 p.m. with the young girl and her two older brothers, ages 15 and 8.
Around 5 p.m., the girl's parents found her unresponsive and still in the car. Authorities said they drove her to a local hospital, where she died shortly before 6 p.m.
The circumstances of the child’s death are under investigation.
The FOX 35 Storm Team said the high-temperature Thursday in the Orlando area was 91 degrees. The low was 84.
MINUTES MATTER: WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IF YOU SEE A CHILD LOCKED IN A HOT CAR
This is the second child to have died after being left in a hot car in Central Florida in the past two weeks.
In Brevard County, a mother was arrested and charged with manslaughter after she reportedly left her 11-month-old infant in the back seat of a vehicle while she attended a church service in Palm Coast.
The baby had been left in the hot car for nearly three hours. Officials, however, said the charges may not hold up in court.
"I don’t know what the state is going to do," board-certified criminal trial expert, Geoff Golub, previously told FOX 35 News. "I think sometimes you just have tragic things that happen. Obviously, she is going to be scarred for the rest of her life."
These tragedies happen more often than people may think. Florida is second in the nation for hot car deaths and doctors say, parents aren’t always to blame.
It doesn't have to be a 90-degree or even 80-degree day for it to be dangerous for a child left alone in a hot car. When it's 80 outside, inside a vehicle can be between 40 and 50 degrees hotter. The initial heat rise happens in the first 20 minutes.
This year six children have died from heat stroke after being left in hot cars, according to NoHeatStroke.org.