A 2-year-old child left in his half-sister’s hot car for five hours in Brandon, Florida, on Tuesday while she worked was later pronounced dead after being discovered and rushed to the hospital.
According to the Brandon sheriff’s office, 21-year-old Fiorello Vanessa Silva-Tello left her half-brother Jacob Manchego in her SUV around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday when she went to work at Best Friends for Kidz, news station WFTS reported.
Silva-Tello discovered the unresponsive toddler when she went to take a break at 2:30 p.m. She tried to get medical help for Manchego at a dialysis center in the nearby shopping plaza, but he was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital, ABC News reported.
Silva-Tello is cooperating with police in the investigation, and no charges have yet been filed, according to ABC News.
Best Friends for Kidz released a statement saying they were sure the events were “a tragic mistake” and that “an intentional act of cruelty would not be within [Silva-Tello’s] means.”
The Christian-based child care center was also cooperating with investigators and said the boy was not scheduled to be in their care on Tuesday, according to ABC.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said bystander and day care parent Jessica Smith told WFTS. “I couldn’t imagine if that was my baby. I don’t know what I would do.”
“How can you forget about a kid being in your car?” Smith continued. “I don’t care how busy you are.”
The temperature in Brandon approached 90 degrees on Tuesday, WFTS reported.