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A Florida man has been arrested after his toddler granddaughter was found alone in the backseat of a rental car he had returned.
Volusia County Sheriff's Office said the girl was discovered by employees at a Hertz car lot at Daytona Beach airport on Monday evening.
The child, who is just under 2 years old, is thought to have been left there for around 45 minutes. Deputies said she was "scared and hot" but otherwise unharmed.
Volusia officers arrived at the Hertz rental lot around 6 p.m. on Monday. The deputies said they found an employee "carrying the child, whose face was warm and streaked with dried tears, but was breathing normally." She was later checked by paramedics.
The girl had been left in a locked vehicle in the unshaded return lot. The authorities estimate that the temperature in the parking lot at the time was about 80F.
According to the National Safety Council, 23 children died as a result of being left in hot cars in 2021. A further 29 deaths have been reported in 2022 so far. On average, 38 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. Nearly every U.S. state has reported at least one death since 1998.
The Hertz vehicle had been returned to the airport lot at 5:13 p.m. Deputies and airport staff made efforts to contact the driver, but were unable to reach him.
A call then came in from the child's mother, who told officers she had just learned her father had left the toddler in the rental car. Deputies said he had initially told the mom her daughter was at his home.
The mother arrived at the airport soon after and was reunited with her child.
Volusia detectives conducted a series of interviews and examined airport security footage, which confirmed that the man had been babysitting his granddaughter that day and had left her in the rental vehicle when he returned it.
David Towner, 62, of Port Orange was later charged with one count of child neglect and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail. He has expressed remorse for his actions and cooperated fully with deputies.
The Department of Children and Families has been notified of the incident.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his office would be issuing citizens awards to the Hertz employees for helping to avert a more serious incident.
A Hertz spokesperson told Newsweek: "We're grateful for the actions of our Hertz teammates and glad the child is safe."
Newsweek has contacted the Volusia County Sheriff's Office for comment.
Update 10/12/22 11:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Hertz
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Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more