PLANTATION, FL – Police are investigating the tragic death of a child whose body was discovered Monday afternoon inside a vehicle parked outside a local preschool.
Emergency Response at the Scene
Plantation Police Department officers responded to a call at 5:39 p.m. on Monday regarding a deceased child at A World of Discovery Academy, located just west of Fort Lauderdale. Upon arrival, the Plantation Fire Department tragically confirmed that the child had passed away.
Detectives immediately secured the scene, and a full investigation into the circumstances of the death is currently underway.
A Devastating Mistake
Leslie Novoa, the owner of A World of Discovery Academy, confirmed that the tragedy appeared to be an accidental hot-car incident. According to Novoa, the child’s father arrived at the school to pick up his child, only to realize in the parking lot that he had never completed the morning drop-off.
The father had unknowingly left the child in the backseat of his vehicle while he was at work all day.
Novoa, who personally dialed 911, described the family as “wonderful” and “great parents” who have been part of the school community for the past six years.
Rising Hot-Car Fatalities
National safety organizations warn that these devastating incidents are far too common, especially during warmer months.
- The National Safety Council reports that an average of 37 children under the age of 15 die from vehicular heatstroke each year.
- Data from Kids and Car Safety highlights that in over 50% of hot-car fatalities, a loving and protective parent or caregiver unknowingly left the child behind due to a change in routine or distraction.
No identifying information regarding the child’s age or name has been released by authorities at this time.
