*This news hits hard, today especially. I mean, because of the unusually hot temperature, I make sure my dogs don’t even stay out long. So to hear that a child was accidentally left in a van; where the temperatures rise to unspeakably hot levels, within a short period of time, hurts beyond compare.
Police in Orlando responded to a call about possible child neglect around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at a daycare called Little Miracles Academy. According to CBS affiliate WKMG, they found a 3-year-old boy dead. He had been left in an SUV for more than 11 hours.
Charges are pending against a careless day care worker who allegedly neglected to do a head count after taking children out of the van at around 9 a.m.
It’s no surprise that the employee is distraught. We know not the identity, but he or she damn well should be!
The family of little Myles Hill told the media they had dropped him off earlier in the day. They say that the boy is generally home at 6 p.m., so when he hadn’t returned by 8 p.m., Myles’ grandmother called police.
Barbara Livingston, Myles’ aunt, went to the daycare center to see if the child was still there. When she arrived an employee told her the child was “Gone.”
“(We) said, ‘Gone where?’ And she pointed at the van,” Livingston told WKMG.
SHE POINTED AT THE VAN!???
“I’m numb. I don’t know how to feel,” Livingston said.
I thought this facility sounded familiar when I first started writing this story. It’s because it is not the first time they are being cited.
The Florida Department of Children and Families confirms that the Little Miracles Academy was cited in an inspection just last month for not keeping track of children being transported.
The inspection report reads…”The facility’s log for children transported did not include the following required elements: [destination time, arrival time, destination location and departure location. ]. (Section 6.2, number 3) [SR].”
Four children have died in Florida after being left in hot cars. 27 more, in other states, have suffered the same fate this year alone WKMG reports.
RIP little Myles. Your short life didn’t deserve to be taken. Family, please accept our sincerest condolences.
Question that perhaps a legal professional in the industry can answer: Since this daycare has been cited prior, it would appear that with another cite; ending in a death no less, that would be cause for its closure, yes?
The CBS video report is below.
