A 23-month-old boy was found dead inside an SUV outside a preschool in Plantation, Florida, on Monday afternoon, prompting a death investigation by local police.
Officers from the Plantation Police Department and the Plantation Fire Department responded to A World of Discovery Academy around 5:39 p.m. on Monday following a report of a deceased child in a vehicle. Fire Department officials pronounced the child dead at the scene. Detectives have since launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
According to Leslie Novoa, the owner of A World of Discovery Academy, she and the child's father discovered the toddler in the back seat of the father's SUV. Novoa told WSVN-TV that the father had arrived to pick up his child and realized he had forgotten him at home, and had not dropped the child off at the school.
Novoa stated that the family has been enrolled at the preschool for years and that the deceased toddler was the third child in the family to attend the school. She described the family as "very loving" and expressed that the incident was an unfortunate accident.
Investigators spent several hours collecting evidence at the scene, and a tent was erected around the SUV. Novoa advised parents to always check the back seat of their vehicles before leaving them to ensure children have been dropped off safely at their destinations.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Plantation police had not announced whether any charges would be filed. ABC News has reached out to the Plantation Police Department for further information and comment.