Florida
5 children have died so far in Florida from being left in hot cars. Here’s why
In 2023, there have already been 10 children who have died after being left in a hot car — and half of them have come from Florida, according to Kids and Car Safety.
Kids and Car Safety is a nonprofit aimed at preventing children and animals from dying in hot vehicles, and the group tracked reported deaths from across the country through the Fourth of July.
The group’s list starts in February with the death of a 2-year-old boy in Alabama who was inadvertently left in the backseat of his father’s car.
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The nonprofit’s list also includes deaths in places like New York, Texas, Washington and Mississippi. However, half of the 10 cases listed come from the Sunshine State.
Below are the details in each of the cases reported in Florida.
Port St. Lucie — March 6
Court records show that on March 6, 37-year-old James Fidele contacted 911 after finding his 2-year-old boy dead in the backseat of his SUV.
According to police, Fidele had been dropping off children at school that morning, and while he was supposed to drop off the 2-year-old, he instead went home.
Investigators said Fidele had been going through his day when he got into his vehicle to go mail a package. That’s when he realized that the child had been left there for around five hours.
Fidele was later arrested and faces a charge of leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm.
Holmes County — May 16
In this case, a 2-year-old girl died after she was left in a car for around 14 hours, leading to her parents facing murder charges, according to the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff John Tate discussed the case back in May, saying that the mother, 23-year-old Kathreen Adams, picked up her two daughters from a babysitter after her work shift early in the morning.
The 2-year-old fell asleep, leading to the parents deciding to leave her out in the car instead of bringing her inside, Tate said. He added that the parents didn’t retrieve her from the car until around 3:40 p.m. the same day.
Ultimately, the girl — who was 107 degrees Fahrenheit — died at the scene, Tate stated.
Methamphetamine, CBD, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia were found in the parents’ home, as well, according to law enforcement.
Adams faces charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Meanwhile, the father, 32-year-old Christopher McLean, faces charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and child neglect with great bodily harm.
The toddler’s 4-year-old sibling has been placed into the custody of the Department of Children and Families, deputies said.
Palm Bay — May 28
An 11-month-old girl who was three days shy of her first birthday was accidentally left in a car in the parking lot of a church for three hours, leading to her death.
An affidavit shows that the girl’s mother, Pastor Bulaine Molme, thought her baby was asleep and in the care of another church member while Molme was leading service at Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church.
Another church member told detectives that someone else normally took care of Molme’s baby in church, but on that morning, surveillance footage showed that Molme and her three other children got out of their car — but no one grabbed the baby.
The report states that Molme didn’t park in her usual parking spot in front of the entrance, where other members usually helped unload the children and church equipment. Instead, she parked on the side of the building, the report shows.
In an interview with Bulaine Molme, police said the mother was remorseful.
She’s been out of jail on $15,000 bond since June 2 and faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child. The state attorney’s office hasn’t formally filed the manslaughter charge yet.
Orange City — June 8
On June 8, a 2-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car in Orange City, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said the girl was left in the car after the family returned to their Orange City home from lunch with the child and her two brothers.
The 2-year-old’s parents found the girl unresponsive more than two hours later and drove her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.
Lakeland — July 4
An 18-month-old toddler died on the Fourth of July after being left in a hot car for hours, leading to her parents being arrested, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Joel and Jazmine Rondon, 33, went to a part on July 4 with their three children, including the toddler. The didn’t return home until 3 a.m. the next day, deputies added.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Jazmine Rondon brought the two older children inside and gave them something to eat while Joel Rondon was bringing stuff into the home, and she said she told him to bring the toddler inside.
However, Joel Rondon said after he finished, he noted that all the doors were shut on the car, so he assumed that his wife got the toddler, Judd said.
Deputies said it wasn’t until 10 a.m. the next morning that Joel found the toddler in the car. The couple took the child to the hospital, but the child was declared dead with an internal body temperature of over 104 degrees.
“The car was outside, not in a garage, not under a tree not under any shade at all,” Judd said. “And obviously, we will try to recreate with the same temperatures the heat of the car. Research shows us that the temperature of the car could have been anywhere between 130 and 170 degrees at that time.”
Judd said the parents both tested positive for alcohol and marijuana, and Joel Rondon tested positive for methamphetamine. He added that they had smoked marijuana at the party.
Both parents face charges of negligent manslaughter. Meanwhile, the two older children are with relatives.
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ORLANDO, Fla. – As hurricane season begins, the Federal Emergency Management Agency could face significant challenges amid budget cuts.
Florida Democratic Congressman Darren Soto expressed his concerns about the potential impact of these changes on the Sunshine State.
“I’m deeply concerned about the attempted changes to FEMA,” Soto said.
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According to CBS News, FEMA lost a third of its staff after 1,800 employees accepted buyout offers from the Trump administration. With an additional 200 probationary workers fired, the agency is shorthanded. CBS News also reported on an internal FEMA review that indicated the agency is “not ready” for hurricane season.
“If a hurricane hits and we don’t get individual relief, it means that you’re not going to get any assistance if you need temporary housing or a loan to fix your house while you’re waiting for the insurance company to pay out, which could be years,” Soto explained.
“It means local governments don’t get reimbursed for cleaning up both the roads and the overtime for law enforcement, firefighters, and our first responders.”
While Congress reviews the Trump administration’s proposal to slash FEMA’s budget, some Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, argue that the agency could be dissolved outright.
“We don’t rely on FEMA. We do it. We lead. We have local partners and the best emergency management team from the local and state level anywhere in the country, bar none,” DeSantis stated in April.
However, Soto disagrees with this perspective.
“It is a boneheaded idea. Look, the states are very good at responding initially, but they don’t have the money to fund the recovery,” he said.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla — Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Tuesday, stating gold and silver coins can be used as legal currency in the state of Florida.
HB 999 states, “the person who claims the sales tax exemption bears the burden for determining whether the gold or silver coin meets a specified definition.” Retailers can determine if they would like to accept the coins as payment in their establishments.
The bill states that the coins must be minted and stamped to indicate their purity. Purchases of the metals would also be exempt from sales taxes.
HB 999 was first filed in Feb. 2025 and was passed by the Senate in April 2025. The House passed the bill on May 23 before it made its way to the governor’s desk on May 27.
The bill will take effect on July 1, 2026.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – University of Florida scientists discovered two different termite species are breeding to create a hybrid termite.
The backstory:
A new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study confirms that hybrid termite colonies have been established in South Florida. Researchers told FOX 13 these hybrid termites are the result of Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites coexisting and mating with each other.
“This is kind of a crazy story to look into, that the two most destructive termites in the world are hybridizing here in Florida — which is not great news, I’ll be honest with you,” said Thomas Chouvenc, associate professor of urban entomology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center and lead author of the study. “It’s going to have evolutionary consequences over the long term.”
Studies to learn more about these hybrid termites – and their potential – are still in the works, he added.
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“It’s not going to be a super termite like some would like to call it, but the reality is, even if it’s a mule, it can still give a good kick, I would argue,” Chouvenc told FOX 13. “So the potential (to cause) damage is probably kind of the same as either the Formosan or the Asian subterranean termite.”
In order to have hybrid termites, both parent termites must live in the same area. This UF/IFAS termite map shows a large presence of both Formosan subterranean termites and Asian subterranean termites in southeast Florida.
What they’re saying:
“We went for genetic analysis, and we confirmed that, yes, these winged termites had half the genes from one species and half the other one. And we have been able to confirm this in 2022, in 2023, 2024, and also this year in April, where we collected these hybrid wing termites,” Chouvenc said. “This tells us that now we have established hybrid colonies in the field in southeast Florida.”
That same UF/IFAS map shows the presence of both termite species in the Bay Area, too.
“We expect that it may just be a matter of time before the hybrid termites between the two is also established in Tampa,” Chouvenc said.
According to the map, Asian subterranean termites have been reported in South Tampa close to MacDill Air Force Base near the water. Chouvenc told FOX 13 he suspects they got there after infecting a boat, because his studies have also shown that water vessels can unknowingly spread these insects.
“It is remarkable how much termites can find a way to survive in these boats as long as there’s sufficient amount of wood and there’s enough moisture,” Chouvenc said. “And if you have a boat, you know there’s going to be moisture on your boat somewhere at some point.”
Both boat, and homeowners are encouraged to always keep an eye out for evidence of termites on their property.
Why you should care:
“The hybridization may not be a problem for us in the short term. It may be kind of a quirky biological story to tell,” Chouvenc told FOX 13. “But the reality is, if we look at the very long term, these populations that have mixed genetic lineages may inherit the good genes from both species.”
“It’s a good time to remind homeowners in Florida that termites are part of our reality,” he added.
The Source: FOX 13 reporter Ariel Plasencia conducted the interview and gathered the information for this story.
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