A 5-year-old Arkansas boy died Monday after he was left in a day care van all day, authorities said.
The boy may have been asleep when the van arrived at the day care early Monday and never got off the van, which remained in the parking lot, West Memphis, Arkansas, police said. The child was found dead in his booster seat hours later, police said.
West Memphis Police said the van for Ascent child care center picked up the boy before 7 a.m. and was supposed to drop him off at the center. The day care’s staff found him dead inside when they came to load children in the van to go home after 3 p.m.
The boy’s mother, who was too distraught to speak on camera, told CNN affiliate WMC that she signed a sheet of paper around 6:30 a.m. indicating her son was picked up and on the van. He arrived at the facility around 7:15.
As the family searches for answers, they also want justice, said Carrie Smith, the boy’s great grandmother.
“You can see that my great grandbaby suffered in that van,” Smith told WMC. “That wasn’t right.”
She described him as a sweet child. She said she would always be there when he got off the van at home.
Police said the temperature in the day care parking lot was 91 degrees Monday afternoon when authorities responded to the incident.
Police said there are safeguards against such an incident. Authorities will forward the case to the Crittenden County District Attorney for possible charges against several people.
Officials with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, which regulates day care centers in Arkansas, were also investigating, police said.
