A babysitter in Florida, USA is being charged with manslaughter after a 10-month-old baby left in her care died in a hot car incident.
According to a report by Fox News, the 46-year-old babysitter Rhonda Jewell, is facing a charge of aggravated manslaughter for ‘accidentally’ leaving the child in a car during a heat wave that led to the baby’s death. The incident took place in Macclenny, near Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday, a day when temperatures in the area are said to have skyrocketed.
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The Baker County Sheriff’s Office reported that Rhonda Jewell picked up the 10-month-old girl from her parents’ residence at 8 a.m. in the morning and drove her to another location where she was expected to babysit her with other kids. Rhonda is said to have left the child in the car and it was only until her parents came to pick up their child in the afternoon that she realized that she had left her in the car since morning.
Authorities were alerted and the child was offered first aid and taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. The baby’s skin was described by first responders as being “very hot to the touch,” and a thermometer indicated that she had a fever of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest reading that the thermometer could record. The babysitter had watched the child on previous occasions and had reportedly begun taking care of the child in June. Rhonda Jewell made her first appearance in court on Thursday morning, and her bond was set at $25,000 with tracking devices when she was released, according to police.
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On Wednesday of the incident, a continuous heat wave that is still plaguing much of the United States caused Jacksonville’s heat index to soar beyond 100 degrees Fahrenheit. On Friday, the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the Macclenny neighborhood of Jacksonville due to projected heat index values of 115 degrees.
