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Toddler dies in hot car as mom teaches inside Florida school

 
Published June 4, 2015

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — An 18-month-old has died after her mother inadvertently left the girl in the back seat of the car while she went inside to teach at a Panama City elementary school.

Authorities say the child's mother, Jamie Buckley, did not discover her daughter, Reagan, until the end of the school day Tuesday. A press release from the sheriff's office stated Reagan was still in her car seat and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say she had been in the car in the parking lot of Cedar Grove Elementary School since before 7:30 a.m.

Temperatures in the area rose to 83 degrees Tuesday.

Reagan's death is at least the third child death from being left in a hot car so far this year.

A 16-month-old child was found dead May 12 in Lake City after she was left in a car, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The child's father, Young Kwon, a public defender in Columbia County in North Florida, forgot to take her to day care that morning and did not discover her until he returned home that afternoon, FDLE said.