Infant dies after being left in hot car,
Jacksonville police say
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An infant girl died Tuesday after
she was left in a hot car outside a residence on the
Northside, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s
Office.
Sgt. Silcox, with the Sheriff’s Office,
said police and members of the Jacksonville Fire and
Rescue Department were called to the scene on Newbury
Road in reference to an unresponsive child. Silcox said
the child was taken to a hospital where she died.
The residence on the street, Silcox said, also acts
as a business. He said the initial investigation shows
the child’s father came to do some work, parked his car
and left his daughter in the vehicle for approximately
an hour before he went back out and found her inside.
“He pulled the child out, began CPR and called 911,”
Silcox added.
Police were conducting a
neighborhood canvass and looking for video, and they
were speaking with the father. He said officers were in
the initial stages of the investigation.
The
Sheriff’s Office said investigators were called to the
area at 2:22 p.m., and Silcox noted the car’s engine was
off. The Weather Authority approximated what
temperatures inside a car could have reached at about
that time — approximately 114 degrees after 20 minutes,
123 degrees after 40 minutes and 128 degrees after an
hour.
Jessica Winberry, injury prevention
coordinator at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, says hot
cars are especially dangerous for children.
“Small children heat up three to five times faster than
adults,” Winberry said.
She shared a tip for
parents.
“Putting a purse in the back or
briefcase in the back so it makes a habit to look in the
backseat,” she suggested.
The last death due to a
hot vehicle in the Jacksonville area in recent memory
occurred in 2019 outside a Westside daycare center.
That’s where investigators said a 4-month-old girl was
left for five hours inside a daycare van.