Little Baby Dies After His Father Forgot to Drop Him Off at Daycare and Left Him in a Hot Car

A Florida father’s world changed forever when he went to pick up his 1-year-old son from day care, only to discover the little boy never showed up. The boy, who was in his father’s car all day, was pronounced dead a few minutes later.

According to local media reports, on Wednesday, November 6, an unidentified man went to St. Louis to pick up his child after work. He attended the Bayfront Child Development Center in St. Petersburg. ABC Action News, ABC 7 Sarasota And FOX 13 Tampa Bay.

After arriving at the center around 5pm local time and talking to the staff, the man realized that he had never actually left his child.

St. “At that point the father realized what was happening and went back to the car,” St. Petersburg Police Department spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez told FOX 13.

According to the source, the young boy was found unresponsive in the backseat of his father’s car all day long as the temperature reached a record high of 91 degrees.

Emergency responders were then called to the parking lot, where they attempted CPR to save the 1-year-old child. However, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to FOX 13. Investigators believe he spent the entire day in the hot vehicle.

Fernandez told FOX 13 that the father forgot to drop off his son that morning because he was bringing him to an appointment and it wasn’t part of their usual routine.

After the appointment, she was supposed to drop off the toddler at Bayfront before returning to the house where she works, the outlet reported.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue division chief Lindsay Judah told FOX 13 that “in just ten minutes, the inside of a vehicle with the doors closed can be 20 degrees warmer.” The little boy spent hours in his father’s car.

An autopsy is being performed and police are actively investigating to determine the exact details of the child’s death and see if charges may be filed, according to ABC Action News and ABC 7 Sarasota.

St. The Petersburg Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Judah told FOX 13, St. The last time St. Petersburg Fire Rescue saw a death like the young boy’s was in 2017, he said.

To prevent further tragedies, he said drivers should “set reminders” for themselves when a child is in the vehicle, especially one that “encourages them to look in the backseat.”

Options suggested by the fire chief include putting the child’s shoes or stuffed animal in the front seat.

“This is the action we are asking our parents and caregivers to take,” Judah told the press. “Take action.”