WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – An 18-month-old toddler has died after being left in a hot car for hours, and Polk County deputies have arrested the parents for negligent manslaughter.
The sheriff’s office arrested Joel and Jazmine Rondon, 33, of Lakeland on Thursday.
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The sheriff’s office said the couple went to a July 4 party with their three children, including the toddler, and did not return home until 3 a.m. the next day.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Jazmine Rondon brought the two older children inside and gave them something to eat while Joel Rondon was bringing stuff into the home, and she says she told him to bring the toddler inside. Joel Rondon said after he finished he noted that all the doors were shut on the car, so he assumed that his wife got the toddler.
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Deputies said it wasn’t until 10 a.m. the next morning that Joel found the toddler in the car. The couple took the child to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center but the child was declared dead. The child’s internal body temperature was 104.4.
“The car was outside, not in a garage, not under a tree not under any shade at all,” Judd said. “And obviously, we will try to recreate with the same temperatures the heat of the car. Research shows us that the temperature of the car could have been anywhere between 130 and 170 degrees at that time.”
An autopsy determined that the toddler died from hyperthermia.
Judd said the parents both tested positive for alcohol and marijuana, and Joel Rondon tested positive for methamphetamine and that they had smoked marijuana at the party.
The two older children are with relatives.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is conducting an investigation as well.
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