A Florida woman has been charged in the death of a 2-year-old girl who she left in a hot car for hours after forgetting to bring her to daycare, authorities say.
Juana Perez-Domingo, 43, was being paid $40 a week to take the tot to daycare when she allegedly forgot little Jocelyn Mendez in the vehicle for seven hours Friday, when real-feel temperatures hit 96 degrees, news station WPLG reported.
Police said Perez-Domingo, who is not a licensed driver, was supposed to drop off the young girl at daycare in Homestead that morning.
But Perez-Domingo brought Jocelyn to her home first since the childcare center was not open yet, the outlet said.
She then forgot the toddler in the car until she returned to the vehicle around seven hours later, police said.
But instead of calling 911, Perez-Domingo brought Jocelyn to her mother’s house, authorities said. The young girl had already died by then from what authorities believe was a heat-related illness, cops said.
Perez-Domingo was taken to jail early Saturday on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child, the station said.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the tot’s official cause of death, police said.
Perez-Domingo also allegedly placed the girl in a seat belt instead of a car seat, WPLG reported.