Sheriff: Babysitter arrested after baby left for hours inside 133-degree car dies

MACCLENNY, Fla. — Authorities arrested a woman after a baby in her care was left inside a hot car Wednesday in Macclenny, officials said.

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In a statement posted on Facebook, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said that around 8a.m. Wednesday, a 10-month-old baby was picked up by Rhonda Jewell, 46, from the baby’s mother’s house in north Mcclenny.

According to an arrest report obtained by WJAX-TV, Jewell took the baby to Burger King. She thought the line was too long, so she decided not to wait and left.

Jewell then went to another house where she babysits three other children, according to the news outlet.

She went inside the house and reportedly left the baby inside the car without realizing it until the baby’s mother came to get her around 1 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.

The internal temperature of the car was over 133 degrees Fahrenheit, according to an arrest report obtained by CNN. The outside temperature was 98 degrees. The arrest report said that the baby was in the car by herself for “at least five hours.”

The baby’s mother saw her inside the car not breathing and said she had blue lips, according to an arrest report obtained by WJAX. The mother called 911 and the baby was taken to a hospital, where she later died.

Jewell was arrested on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child in her care, according to WJAX. Deputies said her bond was set at $25,000, with GPS monitoring required upon her release.

Medical staff said the baby’s internal temperature was 110 degrees but added that the temperature was the highest the thermometer was able to read, WJAX reported. The baby’s external temperature was 102 degrees.

Jewell had been babysitting the child occasionally since last month, officials said.

Sheriff Scotty Rhoden released the following statement about the incident on the BCSO Facebook page:

“As Sheriff, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the magnitude of the tragedy felt throughout our county yesterday. At approximately 1:00 PM, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call that no law enforcement office ever wants to receive. As the events after that phone call unfolded, our department had to work a case that was tragic and deserved privacy. We did not release a statement due to the nature of the tragedy and respect for the victim’s family and our entire community. It is protocol that when we make an arrest, we post the information on social media. Before doing so, we needed to take some time yesterday as a department to think about the impact this incident would have on everyone in our community.

“Florida’s public records law obligates agencies to provide copies of public records. Our commitment to serve Baker County includes offering dignity and compassion to our citizens while upholding our obligations. Therefore, while we chose to maintain the privacy of this matter in respect of the grieving family, we are obligated to answer media requests for information. Several news outlets released information about yesterday’s tragedy. As the Sheriff of a small community, posting the details of this tragedy is very hard for me. The facts of the tragedy are below, but I am asking my community to respect the privacy of the victim’s family and to please join me in prayer for the family and everyone involved. Each of us are given the gift of life every morning we wake up and every evening when we finish our day, we are blessed if our family is safe and healthy. In the blink of an eye, our world can be turned upside down. Please be mindful of this when trying to understand the tragedy that took place in our small town yesterday.”