Baby, 1, dies after being left in 40C car when dad went to an appointment

A baby died after his father left him alone in a nearly 40C car, police have said.

The boy, one, was found dead in St Petersburg, Florida after he was taken by his father to an appointment during which he was left in the vehicle. Investigators said he had been waiting in the all day after the dad diverted from their usual routine en route to a local daycare.

A spokesperson for St Petersburg Police Department said the father was looking after his on the morning of November 6, and believed he was at the daycare after attending his appointment. He later went to pick up the child, after leaving his car in the sweltering heat, only to discover he had also left the tot inside.

It is reported that the unnamed dad left his appointment and headed back home, where he started his work for the day believing he had dropped off his son. The police spokesperson said he then went to collect the one-year-old from the daycare at around 5pm.

READ MORE:

St Petersburg PD spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said the appointment was a diversion from his usual routine, and that he was told by daycare staff that he never dropped his son off. She said: "The father had the child in the morning and, it was not part of their routine, took the child to an appointment with him."

She added: "The father went in to try to pick the child up, but the daycare said, 'You never dropped him off,' so at that point, then the father kind of realized what was going on and went back out to the car." Emergency responders arrived at the scene after the father realised his mistake, and he was pronounced dead.

Temperatures at the time, according to the National Service forecast, had reportedly hit a sweltering 87 to 91 Fahrenheit (30 to 32C), with the heat index reaching 98 and 103 Fahrenheit (36 to 39C). The total, the service states, was 10C above the average temperatures typically recorded at this time of year.

St. Petersburg Fire-Rescue Division Chief of Rescue Lindsay Judah said: "In just ten minutes, it can become 20 degrees hotter inside a vehicle with the doors closed." An autopsy is ongoing and no charges have been filed, police say. Florida is ranked just behind Texas for hot car deaths, according to national non-profit, Kids and Car Safety.

Their research reveals that the majority of hot car deaths happen when a child is unknowingly left in a car or manages to get into a car. Only 18 of Florida's recorded 118 hot car-related deaths have been because of someone knowingly leaving a child in a car.