A one-year-old girl died after a distracted driver accidentally left her locked inside a daycare centre van while temperatures soared outside.
Ra’Miyah Worthington tragically passed away after she was left inside the hot vehicle, which was parked up outside the daycare centre in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday 21 August.
She was later spotted by the driver, who rushed into the day care centre and called 911.
Ra’Miyah was rushed to hospital but despite the best efforts of medics, she sadly died.
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The driver of the van, 62-year-old Ryan Williams, has been charged with a felony count of child negligence resulting in death.
He told police that he became distracted after a little boy didn’t want to leave the van and forgot to unload little Ra’Miyah. He told cops he usually did a sweep of the van before locking up but forgot.
Her heartbroken mother Sina Johnson is now questioning how the tragedy could have happened.
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“How do you forget one when you take two off the van? How did you forget my baby?” she said.
Her dad Rianna Worthington told WCSC: “I’m not comprehending how this could have even possibly happen. The day care picks them up in the morning, early in the morning.
“My thing is, how can you forget a kid that you yourself put into the vehicle?”
Douglas County Chief Deputy Attorney Brenda Beadle said: “He was responsible for getting those kids inside.
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“That little girl was in that van between five and six hours with the temperature outside reaching nearly 100.”
Court documents filed at Douglas County court documents, show that Ra’Miyah was in the van for five hours — which has been corroborated by CCTV footage.
However, believe it's possible she could have been in the van even longer.
“It had to be around eight in the morning — eight in the morning. We didn’t get a call until 3pm,” Sina said.
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“My daughter could have been in there eight, seven hours, no windows down, no nothing. Screaming. Crying. Nobody heard anything. Everybody’s in this building while she’s literally outside in the parking lot.”
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said state officials had issued an emergency order to shut down the daycare centre.
A DHHS spokesperson said: “The protection and well-being of children is of the highest priority by the Department of Health and Human Services, and we are working with law enforcement as they investigate this tragic death.
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"In addition, an emergency order has been put in place temporarily closing the facility until further investigations can take place.”
The family have set up a fundraiser to help cover the costs of Ra’Miyah's funeral - you can donate here.
Claire Reid