A 2-year-old died Sunday in Hallandale Beach inside a hot car while in the care of a babysitter, marking the second time in a week a child has died in the South Florida heat.
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The toddler had been left inside a vehicle while in the care of a babysitter at a residence on Northwest Seventh Avenue. The child was taken to a nearby hospital about 1:35 p.m. and pronounced dead, said Hallandale Beach Police spokeswoman Grace Mariot.
Mariot said she could not identify the child.
“This is a heartbreaking loss, and our thoughts are with the child’s family and everyone affected by this tragedy,” Mariot said.
Hallandale Beach temperatures climbed as high as 93 degrees on Sunday. But due to the high humidity, heat index values (or “feels like” temperatures) across South Florida peaked between 103 and 108 degrees in the afternoon, according to AccuWeather.
Hallandale Beach Police Chief Michel Michel expressed his condolences to the family in a statement provided by the department and urged the community to remain vigilant. “No family should ever have to experience a tragedy like this,” Michel said. “I urge every parent, grandparent, guardian, babysitter, and caregiver to make it a habit to always check the back seat before locking your vehicle. A simple routine, such as placing your phone, purse, or another essential item in the back seat, can serve as a reminder and help prevent an unimaginable loss. One last look can save a child’s life.”
The incident happened less than a week after another child was found dead inside a car outside a Plantation early learning center. His father had gone to pick up the boy after work, only to realize the child had been left in the hot car all day. The child was an 18-month-old boy who attended the school. An investigation is continuing.
The boy’s father was supposed to drop the boy off at the bilingual early childhood education center in the morning, Leslie Novoa, the center’s director and owner, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The father then went to work and later in the afternoon drove to the center, she said, believing his child was there.
The baby’s father seemed sure there must have been some mistake when he arrived that afternoon, Novoa said, but he didn’t realize what happened until he opened his back door to prepare to load the baby into the car seat.
“He opened the door, then slammed it shut,” she said. “And he let out this scream.”
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The Hallandale Beach toddler is at least the 10th child to die in a hot car nationwide this year, according to Kids and Cars, which tracks child hot car deaths and advocates for reforms. Four of those deaths have occurred in Florida.
On June 20, a 3-year-old boy died after he had been unknowingly left in a car in Hillsborough County, WTSP-TV reported. In March, an infant in Winter Haven died after she was left in a car for an unknown amount of time, Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported.
Nearly 40 children die in hot cars every year in the U.S. on average, about one every nine days, according to a fact sheet from Kids and Cars. The vast majority of children who have died in hot cars are age 3 or younger. Nearly half of all children who were unknowingly left in hot cars were supposed to be dropped off at childcare, according to the group.
Some cars have technology that alerts drivers to the presence of a child inside a car, but much of it is insufficient, according to Amber Rollins, executive director of Kids and Car Safety.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was supposed to issue a rule in 2023 requiring the auto industry to include technology in all vehicles to alert drivers to the presence of a child in the car, Rollins said, but the agency has not yet done so.
“We are committed to the push for occupant detection technology in all cars immediately. As we continue our advocacy, children continue to die. It is beyond heartbreaking,” Rollins stated in response to the death of the four Florida children. “Automakers do not have to wait for the final regulation; they can add occupant detection technology to their vehicles today.”
South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at [email protected].
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