RIVERVIEW, Fla. — Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said it is conducting a death investigation after a 3-year-old child was found deceased in Riverview.
Deputies went to the home on Emerald Shore Drive around 10:40 p.m. on June 20.
HCSO said deputies talked to the father at the home and he found his child inside a parked vehicle at the home unresponsive.
The child was taken to the hospital and was pronounced deceased.
"A vehicle can reach lethal temperatures within minutes. We urge every parent and caregiver in our community to make hot vehicle safety a priority. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for a moment,” HCSO Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Dr. Jospeh Perno is the Chief Medical Officer of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. He is also a pediatric emergency medicine doctor.
He said he sees hot car deaths on a yearly basis.
"I've been at Johns Hopkins for almost 25 years and I would say, probably, at least once a year, I've seen it. It just happens all too often," he said.
The national non-profit organization, Kids and Car Safety, tracks hot car deaths nationwide. The organization said so far in 2026, eight children have died in a hot vehicle across the country. In 2026, two deaths have occurred in Florida including the one in Riverview and another in Winter Haven.
Dr. Perno said most of the time, parents unknowingly leave the child in the vehicle.
"Probably, the most common is just accidentally forgetting, you're busy. We have a million things on our mind maybe we're out of our routine or doing something, we're just distracted," said Dr. Perno.
He said one prevention technique is leaving an item in the backseat like a cellphone or shoe.
"Something that is going to trigger you, your cellphone, if you've got a backpack or a purse even a shoe," he said.
He also said keep doors locked when leaving your car unattended.
"Kids climb into an unlocked car thinking it’s a fun place to play or hang out or do something or maybe they’re playing hide-and-seek with friends and, you know, especially a young child can get in there and then they can’t get out and now they’re trapped," he said.
He said temperatures can climb quickly even in the evening.
"Temperatures in the 70s can cause this. I don’t want people to be just on high alert now. This can happen if it’s 70°F outside, the inside of a car can get above a temperature that can kill a child. Obviously, the hotter it is outside, the quicker that could happen," he said.
The sheriff's office has not released the circumstances leading up to the child's death.
At this time, no charges have been filed.
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