JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The child found inside a vehicle in the parking lot at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Jacksonville Beach on Tuesday was 2 years old, Jacksonville Beach Police said Wednesday.
But it’s still not clear who owns the vehicle, who was responsible for the child at the time, or how long she was left inside.
Even without those answers, many can be quick to point fingers, but the reality is, it can happen to anyone.
Seven Florida cities have seen children die in hot cars so far this year. Most recently in Jacksonville Beach. Around 2:40 p.m. Tuesday the 2-year-old girl died after she was left in a hot car in a church parking lot. Information is limited and police say no one has been arrested, but everyone involved was interviewed.
Attorney Belkis Plata says there could still be charges in the future, but every case is different.
“I think it really boils down to the specifics of every individual case, and what are the circumstances?” Plata said. “What is the relationship of that person to the child? Are there any priors in DCF, [has DCF] investigated them for anything.”
In Duval County, the last child to die from being left in a hot car was in 2019. Darryl Ewing was charged with aggravated manslaughter.
We looked into other cases in Florida this year. The charges include child neglect, aggravated manslaughter, negligent manslaughter and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm.
We reviewed these cases with Kids and Car Safety Director, Amber Rollins.
“In cases where a child is truly unknowingly left in the vehicle, we believe that criminal charges are not going to help deter this from happening in future, because it’s something that that person has no idea they’re doing or not doing. In fact, we really believe that criminalizing this when it’s truly an unknowingly left case, actually furthers that mindset with families that this is something that could never happen to them,” Rollins said.
She said it can be as simple as a change of routine. Parents, caregivers, even babysitters thinking they dropped off a child when they didn’t -- or a miscommunication.
“When there’s a lot of hate and blaming when a situation like this happens, everybody needs to find someone to pay, right? Someone’s got to pay for this. And I just I really strongly encourage your community to take the time to learn about how this happens. And to understand this can happen to you. It can happen to anybody,” Rollins said.
We can all agree no one wants this to be their reality. So, look in your backseat before you get out and lock your car. Put something like a cell phone, a purse, laptop in the back as an extra reminder. Also, consider some technology that could help alert you when a child is in your car.