car seat

Mother of Boy Who Died in Hot Car Thought She Left Him in Day Care: DCF Report

What to Know

  • A child was left inside a hot, parked car Friday in a parking lot in the 2200 block of North University Drive.
  • Police are reminding the community not to leave loved ones or pets inside a parked vehicle, especially during the summertime.
  • The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the boy's death along with the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

The mother of a toddler who died after he was left for several hours inside of a car thought she had dropped him off at his day care, according to an incident report from the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The one-year-old boy, whose identity has not been released, was accidentally left in a car all day Friday in Pembroke Pines while his mother was working, according to Monday's DCF report obtained by NBC 6.

"At the time of the incident, the family had been residing with friends while their house was being tented, and the mother [redacted] who had been under a lot of stress, was taking a different route to work," the report stated.

At the end of her work shift, the mother went to the day care to pick up her son. When she was told he never arrived at the day care, she realized what had happened.

Medical personnel tried to resuscitate the 17-month-old, who was still in his car seat. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

"The loss of this child is profoundly saddening and we are grieving with the family," said DCF secretary Mike Carroll. "DCF will continue to work closely with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office during their investigation."

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