A 2-year-old Florida girl died after she was left inside a hot minivan for more than three hours while in the care of a babysitter, authorities said.
Brittany Nicole Láinez Lopez was found Sunday inside a 2012 Honda Odyssey in Hallandale Beach after temperatures climbed into the 90s, with the heat index reaching about 101 degrees. Police said officers responded around 1:35 p.m. to a report of a child left in a vehicle. The toddler was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police have not released the girl’s official cause of death, and no charges have been filed. The Broward State Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case while investigators await the medical examiner’s final report.
Brittany’s mother, Cristina López Ramírez, said her daughter was supposed to be in the care of a paid babysitter while she was at work. Family members allege the babysitter instead had her father pick up the child and that he left her in the vehicle from about 9 a.m. until nearly 1 p.m.
The family has questioned why no one has been arrested and is calling for accountability.
“I just want justice for my child,” López Ramírez told Local 10 News.
Hallandale Beach Police Chief Michel Michel called the incident “a heartbreaking loss” and urged parents and caregivers to always check the back seat before leaving a vehicle.
The death marks at least the 10th child hot-car fatality in the United States this year and the fourth reported in Florida in 2026, according to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety.
The investigation remains ongoing.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.
