"One of the children got in the van and discovered the two-year-old Smith, what she thought was asleep, in the back of the van," said police spokesman Sgt. Warren Mitchell. The driver immediately called paramedics and the Smith was rushed to Children's Medical Center Dallas, where he was pronounced dead.
The van — with the driver and a monitor aboard — had been used Thursday morning to pick up roughly 14 students and take them to four different schools in the area. Smith was supposed to have been dropped off at the H.H. Banks Day Care Center around 9 a.m. The 2007 Chevrolet passenger van was parked outside Banks, with Smith inside, during the day until it began the afternoon routes. No arrests have been reported. Currently child abuse detectives are reviewing the facts of the event. Child Protective Services said the Banks Day Care Center had no violations during its last inspection in April.
According to KidsAndCars.org, an organization that campaigns for child safety, this is the 13th case of a child dying after being left in a hot vehicle in Texas in 2010. Jeanette Fenell, the founder of the group, said the national death toll this year is 45.
