Toddler dies after being trapped in hot car for two
hours, police say
A 23-month-old boy died
Saturday after he was trapped inside a hot car for two
hours.
The BMW was parked outside a home in
Delray Beach, police said.
Delray Beach police
responded to the scene on Northwest Fifth Street near
Military Trail and Lake Ida Road in the Rainberry Woods
neighborhood at about 3:20 p.m.
Dani Moschella,
public information officer for Delray Beach Police, said
the toddler was unconscious when officers arrived and
discovered the front doors of the car were unlocked.
They pulled him out and began giving him CPR until
Delray Beach Fire Rescue arrived and took him to
Bethesda Memorial Hospital.
He died a short time
after arriving at the hospital, she said.
The
toddler, who would have turned 2 in August, had been
playing with other young family members and may have
been in the hot car for two hours before his family
realized he was missing, Moschella said.
There
was one adult in the home, she said. It was unclear how
the child got into the car, but he likely got in through
the front door, she said.
Detectives are
investigating the incident and talking to witnesses to
determine how it happened, she said.
“Make sure
any vehicle in your driveway is locked, that little kids
can't get the keys," Moschella said. "The parents may
not even know [a child is] missing.”
A car
sitting out in South Florida’s July heat can reach 150
degrees in minutes, police say.
At the little
boy's house Saturday evening, the cars of family members
and friends lined the street and several groups of
people stood outside speaking in hushed tones. Many of
them were gathering in the backyard of the home.
One woman, who didn't want to give her name, said the
family is Haitian.
Anderson Exantus, a
19-year-old neighbor, said he would often see the little
boy playing outside with his mother and siblings.
Many of the neighbors had been talking about his
death, he said.
"He was always a jumpy little
boy," he said. "He had lots of energy. And his parents
treated him really well."