The parents of a 2-year-old Bucks County boy who died--after he was left in a hot, locked van outside a daycare center have filed a negligence lawsuit against the owners.
Gil and Lyudmila Slutsky are seeking unspecified damages against Fairy Tales Day Care center in Pennel, Pa. for the death of their son Daniel. They are also suing Rimma Shvartsman, a co-owner, who owns the van, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the suit filed on Tuesday, the Slutsky’s said Fairy Tales and its owners "were under a legal and moral duty to provide competent and safe care" for their son, according to the paper.
On July 1, Shvartsman, 46, parked the van outside the Fairy Tales Day Care center and went in to work. She told officials she forgot the child was in the car at the time, Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said.
More than six hours passed before Shvartsman went back out to her van. That's when she found Daniel, unresponsive in his car seat, carried him back inside the daycare and called 9-1-1. He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy confirmed that the toddler died of hyperthermia or heat exposure.
The temperature outside in the late afternoon was about 84 degrees. In that kind of weather, a car parked in the sun can reach temperatures from 131 to 172 degrees, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.
Law enforcement authorities are still investigating the death, and Bucks Count District Attorney Michelle Henry has not ruled out possible criminal charges, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
