A 10-month-old Florida girl from Macclenny died Wednesday after her babysitter left her inside a hot vehicle in a garage for five hours, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.
According to her arrest report, 46-year-old Rhonda Jewell went to the home of the child’s mother around 8 a.m. Wednesday to pick up the girl, who she has occasionally babysat since June.
Investigators said Jewell then drove to a home on Estate Street in Macclenny, where she was going to babysit other children as well.
Jewell arrived and went into the house, assuming the 10-month-old was asleep in her car seat in the SUV. She began interacting with the other children and “forgot all about the infant being left in the car” in the garage.
When the girl’s mother arrived around five hours later at 1 p.m. to pick her up, the infant was still strapped in a car seat inside the hot SUV.
Paramedics took the infant to Fraser Memorial Hospital where she died.
Jewell was later arrested on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child. Her bond was set at $25,000 with GPS monitoring upon release during a court appearance Thursday morning.
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