Florida dad went to pick up 18-month-old from day care — what he found was horrifying

A Florida family was completely devastated by the tragedy that unfolded on Monday after a father went to pick up a child at day care in Plantation.

The man, who was not identified publicly, believed he had dropped off the child in the morning and went to work. At the end of the day, he went to the day care and let out a scream after finding his horrific mistake.

'He opened the door, then slammed it shut. ... And he let out this scream.'

The child was found dead in the back seat of the car.

Leslie Novoa, the owner and director of A World of Discovery Academy, explained to the South Florida Sun Sentinel why the staff didn't react when the child wasn't dropped off that morning.

Novoa said the man and his wife would alternate dropping off two kids at the day care. On that day, they called to inform them that they would not be dropping off the older child.

When they didn't drop off any child, Novoa said no one found it suspect.

"This is a tragedy that happened to them and to all of us," said Novoa, who said the family had been very caring and very loving in their interactions.

Novoa said the man had expected to pick up the child and only realized what happened when he opened the back door of the car.

"He opened the door, then slammed it shut," Novoa said. "And he let out this scream."

Plantation Police said they were called to the day care on a report of "a deceased child in a vehicle."

Firefighters responded to the emergency and confirmed the child had died.

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The National Safety Council said about 37 children under the age of 15 die each year on average after being left in a vehicle.

"Nearly every state has experienced at least one death since 1998," the group added. "In both 2018 and 2019, a record number of 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle."

About half of the hot-car deaths result in charges against a parent, and of those, about 80% result in convictions.

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