---
title: "Three-Year-Old Dies in Texas After Being Left in Daycare Van for Hours"
description: "Temperatures inside the van reached 113 degrees by the time the child was found."
date: "2018-07-23"
modified: "2018-07-23"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/22335/three-year-old-dies-in-texas-after-being-left-in-daycare-van-for-hours"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "accidental deaths"
  - "Children"
  - "Houston"
  - "police"
  - "Texas"
---

# Three-Year-Old Dies in Texas After Being Left in Daycare Van for Hours

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/07/gettyimages-150423047.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Workers of a Houston-area daycare facility are currently cooperating with law enforcement to understand how a three-year-old boy was left [inside the daycare's transportation van](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/20095/ohio-teen-dies-in-high-school-parking-lot-after-getting-trapped-by-minivans-third-row-seat>) following a class field trip Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was simply too late by the time the staff realized, as the young boy had already succumbed to the extreme Texas heat.

The "Discovering Me Academy" took a total of 29 students to a nearby park as part of a school field trip, according to [*CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/20/health/child-dies-in-hot-daycare-bus-texas-trnd/index.html>). Upon the field trip's completion, the kids were loaded onto the van and returned to the school between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m., when the driver and chaperone claim to have unloaded the van and guided the kids inside the daycare facility. According to the Harris County [sheriff's office](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/22312/u-s-doj-wants-refund-for-dodge-charger-hellcat-bought-by-georgia-sheriffs-department>), school records show that the person in charge of roll call had marked the missing three-year-old boy as "present" on the list, and that it wasn't until 6:30 p.m. when the boy's father showed up to pick him up that they realized he was missing.

![message-editor%2F1532377642639-untitled.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1532377642639-untitled.jpg>)
*A screenshot of the daycare's website shows the facility's parking lot where the boy passed away., *Discovering Me**

"It's just tragic," Constable Alan Rosen told *CNN*. "It seems to me this was just gross negligence."

By the time the boy was found, he had been in the 113-degree cabin for nearly four hours. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and [pronounced dead](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18513/driver-dead-instructor-injured-after-track-day-crash>) by 7:45 p.m. Thursday.

It's unclear if the boy was asleep when they arrived back at the daycare or what may have led to him being forgotten inside the van. It's also unclear if the boy was strapped to a child's seat, which could've possibly kept him from escaping the van once he realized what was happening. [*ABC News*](<https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/toddler-left-in-texas-day-care-van-dies-from-heat>) claims that the van's driver and the trip's chaperone have been detained for questioning but no charges have been filed.

It must be said again; don't forget to check your car prior to exiting if traveling with children or pets.

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)