A 1-year-old left in the back seat of a hot vehicle has died, Winter Haven police said.
Just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, police and paramedics responded to a home on Avenue N Northwest and found the child in the backseat, according to a police news release.
They immediately started life-saving measures and transported the child to the hospital, police said.
It was about 83 degrees at the time.
“It is unknown how long the child was inside of the car,” police said.
According to police, the child was being cared for by a grandmother.
An investigation is ongoing.
Florida law prohibits leaving a child under 6 unattended in a vehicle for more than 15 minutes — or for any time if conditions pose a danger, including heat.
This is the first U.S. death of a child in a hot car this year, according to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety. In 2025, there were 35, with only one in Florida – in Ormond Beach last June.
“Even with the windows cracked, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in minutes,” the organization said. “Children have died from heatstroke in cars when outside temperatures were as low as 60 degrees.”
On average, nearly 40 children die in hot cars every year in the United States, the organization said. In over half, a “loving, responsible” person unknowingly left the child in the vehicle.
“Rear-facing child safety seats do not look any different to the driver if they are occupied or empty, which can cause a parent to lose awareness of [the child] in the back seat,” the organization said.
Click here for more information.
