‘Devastated’: North Texas family grieves death of infant left inside hot car
A North Texas family is grieving the death of a 6-month-old girl who was unintentionally left inside a hot car for several hours in Rockwall on Tuesday.
Rymedi Worth was a happy baby who would light up a room with her presence, according to a GoFundMe established by the child’s aunt, Kaniya Valentine.
“We are devastated knowing we will never get to see her crawl, hear her first words, or celebrate her first birthday,” Valentine said in the fundraiser. “We will never watch her take her first steps, go to her first day of school, or grow into the amazing person we know she would have become. Our hearts are shattered beyond repair.”
Rymedi’s step-grandfather, Camerone Leichman, has been arrested in connection with her death. According to jail records, he’s being held in the Rockwall County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond and faces a charge of injury to a child.
Police and family members told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that Leichman was supposed to drop Rymedi off at her daycare after driving his wife to work at Rockwall-Heath High School. Leichman forgot the baby was in the car and headed home instead. Rymedi was discovered several hours later when Leichman went to pick up his wife at the end of the school day.
Valentine said in the fundraiser that Rymedi’s death was “an unimaginable and heartbreaking accident.” Money from the GoFundMe will help cover the infant’s funeral expenses. As of Friday afternoon more than $800 had been raised toward an $11,000 goal.
At least seven children in Texas, including a 15-month-old in Frisco on Aug. 16, have died as a result of being left in a hot car so far this year.
