A four-month-old Florida girl died on May 22 after the daycare worker left her alone in the van for over four hours in the heat. Now the mother of the girl is asking for help from the community.
“I come to you all today as humble and as most importantly a grieving mother and ask for your help in helping laying my baby girl to rest,” Lancia Isaac from Jacksonville, Florida, wrote on the crowdfunding campaign page she started on GoFundMe.
Her goal of raising $10,000 to cover the funeral cost has already progressed through one-third of the way.
“My family is in shambles and with so many unanswered questions.
“The team of doctors and nurses did everything in their power to save my beautiful baby girl but she couldn’t be revived. The tragedy has left our city outraged and full of sorrow.”
The baby, Brooklyn, was picked up from home early in the morning and driven to the Ewing’s Love and Hope Daycare Center on 5800 Lenox Avenue. The driver, Darryl Ewing, who also co-owned the daycare center, picked up several other children in the van, including two of Brooklyn’s siblings, and took them into the daycare center around 8:30 a.m.
But Brooklyn was left in the car never to be checked into the daycare.
Until 1 p.m., the infant girl was strapped in her child seat in the third row of the van that was parked in the sun. The baby girl was only discovered by the daycare workers after the mother made a call about their after-school arrangements.
The doctors at Wolfson Children’s Hospital tried and failed to revive Brooklyn. She died at 2:53 p.m.
The police believe that the baby died as a result of the excess heat—the temperature of the day averaged in the upper 80s and went as high as 92 degrees. A vehicle parked on a 90-degree day can heat up to 135 degrees inside, according to NoHeatStroke.org.
LATEST DETAILS: 4-month-old infant left in hot daycare van for 4 1/2 hours.
Infant died.
Darryl Ewing, 56 years old has been arrested for Child Neglect in reference to the death investigation. Investigation is ongoing. https://t.co/NYpFBp0UXn pic.twitter.com/LP813jQqYX
— Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) May 23, 2019
Ewing, 56, has been jailed for child neglect. None of the other among the 14 children in the daycare were injured.
“It was determined the suspect’s actions (and lack thereof) failed to provide the victim with the necessary supervision and provide services to protect the victim’s physical health, all which was essential to the victim’s well-being and contributed to the death of the victim,” according to a statement from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The police also noted that Ewing refused to talk to detectives. They are continuing the investigation.
Heat Stroke Risk in Children
Heat stroke, a condition caused by excessive and prolonged overheating, can lead to loss of consciousness, hallucinations, and seizure. A body temperature of 107 degrees or higher can be life-threatening as the internal organs will begin to shut down, according to NoHeatStroke.org.
Children are more susceptible to heat stroke since their body temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult, putting them in greater danger in a hot car or other environments with high heat exposure.
Today marks National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Sadly, a record number of children died in hot cars in 2018. Help prevent pediatric vehicular heatstroke by checking out our FREE online training. #HeatStrokeKills #LookBeforeYouLock https://t.co/9KFtBLwi2t pic.twitter.com/ROnuOByWaq
— NSC (@NSCsafety) April 16, 2019
Records from the National Safety Council shows that 52 children died from heatstroke in the year 2018—the highest number over the past two decades. Nearly 800 children have died in overheated vehicles since 1998, and 24 percent of the tragedies occurred in employer parking lots.
Experts warned that parents should never leave a child unattended in a vehicle even for a few minutes, and suggest that they always lock the car and make sure children aren’t able to get inside without supervision.
