PLANTATION, Fla. — A child was found dead in a vehicle outside a South Florida preschool on Monday, authorities said.
According to a social media post shared by the Plantation Police Department, officers and fire rescue crew members responded to A World of Discovery Academy at about 5:39 p.m. after receiving a “report of a deceased child in a vehicle,” the Sun Sentinel reported.
Plantation Fire Department crews located the vehicle and pronounced the child deceased at the scene, according to WPLG.
According to the Kids and Car Safety website, the fatality was the ninth nationwide this year and the third in Florida during 2026. The others in Florida occurred on March 31 in Winter Haven, and on June 20 in the Tampa suburb of Riverview.
Leslie Novoa, the academy’s owner and director, confirmed to the Sun Sentinel that the child was an 18-month-old boy who attended the school.
She told the newspaper that the boy’s father was supposed to drop off the child at school but forgot the toddler was in the car.
Novoa added that the man went to work and later drove to the preschool, believing his son was there. When he arrived, Novoa opened the vehicle’s door and discovered the boy, and then called 911, the Sun Sentinel reported.
“This is a tragedy that happened to them and to all of us,” she said.
The child’s identity has not been released, WTVJ reported.
The family-owned preschool is a bilingual education center that offers programs for children ages 3 months to 4 years, according to its website.
In a letter to parents obtained by WTVJ, A World of Discovery Academy officials wrote that there was “an emergency” involving a school parent and his child.
“This situation did not involve any school operations, students, or staff, and the campus remained entirely secure,” the letter read, according to the television station. “We understand that seeing emergency vehicles can cause concern, but we want to reiterate that your children were safe.”
An investigation is ongoing.