Forgotten toddler dies in hot car after family returns from outing, Florida cops say

A Florida family’s outing turned tragic when it was discovered a child had been left sitting in the car in 90-degree temperatures, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

It happened Thursday, June 8, at a home in Orange City, about 30 miles north of Orlando.

Investigators believe the 2-year-old girl was left in the car for about two hours and 20 minutes, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“The ... family told detectives they left their ... home and went to lunch in DeLand. They returned home about 2:40 p.m. with the child and two older brothers, ages 15 and 8,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Around 5 p.m., the girl’s parents found her unresponsive still in the car and drove her to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased just before 6 p.m.”

A cause of death was not released. An investigation into “the circumstances of the child’s death” is underway, officials said.

Temperatures in Orange City reached 91 degrees Thursday, according to AccuWeather.com.

That means temperatures inside the car could have reached about 135 degrees over two hours, experts calculate.

The rapid increase of temperatures in cars is due to the sun’s shortwave radiation, which heats the objects it strikes, according to the National Weather Service.

“A dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in the range of 180 to more than 200 degrees,” the NWS says.

“These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, childseat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation (red) which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2023 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Forgotten toddler dies in hot car after family returns from outing, Florida cops say."