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Toddler dies after dad forgot to drop him off at daycare and left him in hot car
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Toddler dies after dad forgot to drop him off at daycare and left him in hot car

A Florida father’s world changed forever when he went to pick up his 1-year-old son from daycare and staff revealed the child had never arrived. The boy, who had been in his father’s car all day, was pronounced dead moments later.

On Wednesday, November 6, the unidentified man went to the Bayfront Child Development Center in St. Petersburg after work to pick up his son, according to local media reports. ABC Action News, ABC7 Sarasota and FOX 13 Tampa Bay.

After arriving at the center around 5 p.m. local time and speaking with employees, the man realized he had never actually left his son.

Yolanda Fernandez, spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department, told FOX 13 that “at that point, the father realized what was happening and got back in the car.”

The young man was found unconscious in the back seat of his father’s car, where he had been all day, as temperatures reached a record 91 degrees, the outlet reported.

Bayfront Health Child Development Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Emergency services were then called to the parking lot, where they attempted to perform CPR to save the 1-year-old boy. However, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to FOX 13. Investigators believe he spent the entire day in the hot vehicle.

The father forgot to drop off his son that morning because he had taken him to an appointment, which was not part of his usual routine, Fernandez told FOX 13.

After the appointment, she was supposed to drop the child off at Bayfront, before returning home, where she works, the outlet reported.

Lindsay Judah, division chief of the St. Petersburg Fire Department, told FOX 13 that “in just ten minutes, it can be 20 degrees hotter inside a vehicle with the doors closed.” The boy spent hours in his father’s car.

An autopsy is being performed and police are actively investigating to determine the exact details surrounding the child’s death and to see if charges may be filed, according to ABC Action News and ABC 7 Sarasota.

The St. Petersburg Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Judah told FOX 13 that the last time St. Petersburg Fire Rescue saw a death like the young man’s was in 2017.

To prevent further tragedies, he said drivers should “create reminders” for themselves when a child is in their vehicle, specifically, a reminder that “tells them to look in the back seat.”

Options the fire chief suggested include placing the child’s shoe or stuffed animal in the front seat.

“That’s the action we ask our parents and caregivers to take,” Judah told the outlet. “Take action.”