Boy dies after being left in hot car outside Miami Gardens school

MIAMI – A three-year-old boy has died after he was accidentally left inside a hot vehicle for hours in Miami Gardens.

On Monday, the boy’s father took his children to the Lubavitch Education Center on NW 7 Avenue, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

The man, who also works at the center, did not realize his son was missing until late in the afternoon another worker at the center told him that he had not seen the boy all day.

Monday afternoon temperatures were in the low to mid 90s with “sensible” temperatures in the triple digits.

The unresponsive child was found in the suffocating vehicle and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“We are beyond devastated to have experienced an accident on the Lubavitch Education Center (LEC) campus today involving a private vehicle, resulting in the untimely passing of the 3-year-old son of two staff members. This tragedy hits close from home, and many in our school community have been affected by it. There are no words that can express the anguish and sadness we feel,” Rabbi Benzion Korf, dean of the Lubavitch Education Center, said in a statement.

Nationwide, more than 1,000 children have died in hot cars since 1990, according to data compiled by Kids and Car Safety. The state of Florida ranks second in the nation with at least 108 children who have died in hot cars since 1992.

“As we head into the summer months, we’re getting more and more calls from kids who have been left in the backseat of cars or locked in a car and parents can’t reach them. As summer approaches Cars get hot very, very quickly and it could be a tragic event in minutes,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan.

So far this year, there have been 10 cases of hot car deaths involving children.

Safety tips for parents and caregivers from Kids and Car Safety

• Make sure your child is never left alone in a car:
• Place the child’s diaper bag or item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is with you.
• Get in the habit of opening the back door every time you park to make sure no one gets left behind. To reinforce this habit, put an item you can’t start your day without in the backseat (laptop, phone, purse, etc.)
• Ask your child care provider to call you right away if your child has not arrived as scheduled.
• Clearly announce and confirm who will remove each child from the vehicle. Lack of communication can lead to the belief that someone else took the child.