Florida 3-Year-Old Dies After Being Left In Day Care Van For 12 Hours

A toddler in Orlando, Florida died Tuesday after being left behind in a hot day care van for almost 12 hours, according to The Washington Post. The 3-year-old was discovered dead late Monday evening after the driver reportedly failed to do a headcount and determine the boy was left behind.

The child, Myles K. Hill, didn't get out of the vehicle when it arrived at his day care facility at Little Miracles Academy on Monday. He was found unresponsive in the day care's van Monday night, which prompted the day care to alert the police.

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The Orlando Police Department (OPD) held a press conference to discuss the incident that Police Chief John Mina deemed to be a "tragedy."

"We were called to Little Miracles Academy — 900 Plymouth — in reference to an unresponsive child. Tragically, one of our officers arrived. They found that 3-year-old Myles Hill had died," Mina said.

"Our initial investigation revealed that the day care worker picked up Myles and other kids in intent to drive them to the other Little Miracles Academy on 2514 West Colonial Drive," he continued. "She returned to the day care center on Plymouth and did not realize Myles was still in the van."

Hall was supposed to be dropped off at his grandmother's house Monday night, but he never arrived. Hall's grandmother later called local law enforcement, and the OPD launched a missing child investigation. She also alerted Little Miracles Academy of her grandson's absence, which led the day care staff to check the van and discover Hall's unresponsive body.

"This is an absolute tragedy that could have been prevented. If confirmed by the autopsy, Myles would be the thirty-second child that has died while being left in a hot vehicle this year and the fifth in the state of Florida," Mina concluded. "I just wanted to take a moment to plead with every single parent, caregiver, babysitter, brother, sister [or] whoever please make sure that we are checking our vehicles for our kids. It just takes a minute."

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The OPD is waiting for the results from Hall's autopsy to determine his cause of death, but it's believed that Hall was left in the hot vehicle since 9:00 a.m. EDT. Hill would have been 4 years old later in August. A vigil was held in his honor Tuesday at the day care center.

Criminal charges for the day worker at fault are still pending, but the OPD claims that she has been "very cooperative" throughout this process. The Florida Department of Children and Families are also conducting their own separate investigation into the incident. The day care driver's identity has not been revealed to the public at this time.

This isn't the first time Little Miracles has come under fire for allegations of trouble keeping track of children through its transportation system. According to documents obtained by WKMG, the day care facility was cited in a July inspection report for not thoroughly keeping track of children transported in company vehicles.

The report read, "The facility's log for children transported did not include the following required elements: [destination time, arrival time, destination location and departure location.]."

A representative for Little Miracles Academy did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.