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Homestead Man Charged With Aggravated Manslaughter After Toddler Dies in Hot Car
A Homestead man faces aggravated manslaughter and child neglect charges after a 2-year-old girl was found dead inside a vehicle Saturday afternoon, authorities said. Neighbors say the man was supposed to drop the child at daycare but forgot, leaving her in the car for hours.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. â A Homestead man has been arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter after a young girl was found dead inside a vehicle over the weekend, according to arrest records.
Keyner Roman Vazquez de Leon faces three charges: aggravated manslaughter of a child under 18, leaving a child under six unattended in a motor vehicle resulting in bodily harm, and child neglect causing great bodily harm, the records show.
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies, Homestead Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to a medical call around 3:30 p.m. Saturday near Suncrest Avenue and Northwest Ninth Court. First responders found a juvenile girl inside a vehicle. Despite lifesaving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors told reporters that Vazquez de Leon lived nearby and had known the family for about three years. One neighbor, Berlin Vasquez, said the man typically took children to school and was caring for the approximately 2-year-old girl on Saturday.
"He normally takes kids to school," Vasquez said. "Yesterday, he was taking care of baby basically 2 years old, and he forgot. Eight hours inside a car and he forgot."
Another neighbor said the child's mother went to the daycare, could not find her daughter, and called the man to ask where she was. The neighbor said he apologized and was already outside the home with authorities when the mother arrived.
"I really don't know much about it," Vasquez said. "How he could forget? I guess he had too many things going on and he forgot."
The death has shaken other parents in the neighborhood, who described a loss of trust in informal childcare arrangements.
"It's very painful," one mother said. "We have our kids, we leave them with someone to take care of them, and now we don't have that confidence to do so."
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Homicide Bureau has taken over the investigation. Investigators have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding the child's death.
Hot-car deaths are a recurring tragedy in Florida, where temperatures inside a parked vehicle can rise rapidly even on mild days. Safety advocates urge parents and caregivers to check the back seat every time they exit a vehicle and to keep a reminder â such as a purse, phone or shoe â in the back seat as a safeguard.
The case remains under investigation. No further information about the child's identity or a court date for Vazquez de Leon was immediately available.