A three-year-old boy died after being left inside a day care van for hours. The driver of the said van will possibly face charges over the boy’s death.
The incident took place in Orlando on Monday when the temperatures outside reached 93 degrees. The driver is an employee with the Little Miracles Academy day care center, which remains closed pending the investigation.
Boy found almost 10 hours later
The boy was found hours after the other kids were taken from Little Miracles Academy Day Care Center to another location, which was not identified. CNN reported that the boy, Myles Hill, was found on Monday 30 minutes before 7 p.m.
inside the van, which was parked at the center mentioned above. Police believed Hill has been inside the vehicle since 9 in the morning.
The van is used to both pick up and drop off the kids at their home. It is unknown why the employee did not notice that Hill was not dropped off at the second location and when the kids were taken home. Reports said that after the employee dropped the other kids off to the second location, the employee went back to the first location, which is the parking lot of Little Miracles Academy.
The grandmother of Hill and a legal guardian called Little Miracles Academy that afternoon because the boy was not dropped off at their home. Employees then told the family that they did not see Hill at all at the day care center.
Relatives claim Hill’s attendance was not brought up when they called the center
Although the employees at Little Miracles Academy told the family and relatives of Hill that he was not seen at the day care center for the whole day, they never told them that he was not in when his relatives called the employees to ask about the kid’s uniform.
An aunt of Hill, Vivian Chaney, said that there should have been a head count when they dropped the kids to the other location. Police did not say what the procedure of the day care center was whenever children were not present for the day.
The employee who drove the van did say that when the kids were taken to the second location, there was no head count.
The employee, whose gender is also not disclosed to the public, did not realize that Hill was still inside the van. The employee will most likely face charges, but police did not release details about this yet.
Cause of death is heat-related
Police Chief John Mina said the cause of death of Hill remains unknown pending the autopsy, but authorities believed it was heat-related due to the evidence they gathered. Mina said the death of the toddler could have been prevented.
Center remains closed
The Little Miracles Academy remains closed pending investigation. Per reports from the Florida Department of Children and Families, the day care center failed to comply with some of the standards for personnel records, supervision, and transportation.
In 2015, the day care center also failed to place a signed Child Abuse, and Neglect Reporting Requirements form in its personnel records. In March this year, the Little Miracles Academy staff was found to be not within sight and hearing while the children napped. Just this July, the transportation log failed to include information regarding destination, arrival times, and locations.
Myles would have turned four years old this August. He will be the 32nd child to die due to a hot car incident all over the United States this year, NBC News reported. Mina encouraged parents, siblings, babysitters, caregivers, and anyone to check their vehicles before leaving to avoid incidents like this. Mina also pointed out that people are distracted due to cell phones and other items so they should place their wallets and other valuables in the back seat where they could easily see the child or children.
Owner apologizes
The owner of the day care center, Audrey Thornton, apologized to the family of the three-year-old. Thornton said she does not want anyone of the Hill family to get mad at her because she loved the boy noting that she took care of him since he was a baby, Orlando Sentinel shared.
Thornton also vowed to keep the daycare open.
