Coroner: 2-year-old died of high body temp
A 2-year-old boy who died Monday after his body overheated as he sat in the back of a van is believed to have been in the vehicle for up to four hours.
The child, LaVontae Swain, died shortly after 4 p.m. in the carpool lane at Gutermuth Elementary School, said Deputy Coroner Larry Carroll.
He said the toddler's cause of death was "consistent with hyperthermia," a heat-related condition of abnormally high body temperature often cited when children are left inside hot vehicles.
Monday's high of 87 degrees was unseasonably warm. It marked the hottest day of 2016 in Louisville so far and nearly broke a record high of 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service
Louisville Metro police said Tuesday that an employee of Lil' Kings and Queens Daycare was behind the wheel of the van. LaVontae was in the vehicle for three to four hours before he was discovered, police said.
A woman answering the phone Tuesday at the day care declined comment.
The business was found to be in violation of child care center health and safety state standards when investigated by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services six times in the last four years, online cabinet records show.
Between 2012 and as recently as October 2015, inspectors concluded that children at the center weren't adequately supervised and that its director did not always have proper background check documentation for employees, among other reported violations.
A police spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon that the investigation was ongoing. No further information was released by police.
Carpool attendants at the Jefferson County Public Schools site first noticed the unresponsive child in the back seat of the van that had pulled into the school's carpool lane, said Allison Martin, spokeswoman for JCPS. The school district reported that staff called 911 and began administering CPR.
Louisville Metro Police responded Monday afternoon to the school in southwest Louisville where they found LaVontae in cardiac arrest, said police spokesman Dwight Mitchell.
The temperature inside cars can rise by 20 degrees in fewer than 10 minutes when temperatures are in the 70s, the NWS advises as part of its "Beat the Heat, Check the Backseat" initiative to prevent children dying in hot cars. The weather service gives the following safety tips:
- Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
- Cracking the windows provides little to no relief
- If you see a child unattended in a hot vehicle, call 911 immediately.
- Be sure that all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading. Don't overlook sleeping babies.
- Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as a play area.
- Place your purse or briefcase in the back seat as a reminder that you have your child in the car.
- Make "look before you leave" a routine whenever you get out of the car.
National advocacy group KidsAndCars.org has documented 21 cases in Kentucky since 1993 where children have overheated inside vehicles.
Gutermuth, in the Cloverleaf neighborhood at 1500 Sanders Lane, teaches students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school's principal, Laura Mullaney, shared a note with parents Monday evening:
"Dear Gutermuth Family,
I'm very sorry to have to share heartbreaking news with you, but I wanted to reach out personally and provide you with facts about an event at Gutermuth Elementary today that you may have heard about on the news. During dismissal, a vehicle pulled into the carpool line and it was noticed that an unresponsive child was in the back of the vehicle. Staff and the school nurse immediately called 911 and began administering aid to the child. Sadly, the child passed away. Although the student was not a Gutermuth student, we are all thinking of the family. The counselors at the school will of course be here to support your child in any way that he/she may need."
Reporter Kirsten Clark contributed to this story. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.