Woman charged in death of boy left in hot car

Toronto passerby broke window to check on child

TORONTO • A 50-yearold Toronto woman was charged Friday with causing the death of a child in her care after allegedly leaving him alone in a car for several hours on a sweltering day.

While police had described the woman as a nanny at one point, they said later that her exact role was not clear.

Toronto police Const. David Hopkinson said the woman was tasked with dropping the four- year- old boy off at a care facility the day he died.

Hopkinson said the boy was discovered inside a car in the west end of Toronto early afternoon on Thursday when the outside temperature was around 26 C.

He said a passing citizen noticed the child inside the car, became concerned because of the temperature and broke a window to check on his condition.

A resident on the 12th floor of a nearby condo tower, who identified himself only by his first name, Milan, said he heard a commotion outside.

When he l ooked down to the parking lot below, he saw a group of five or six people — including building staff — break the window of a car and then remove a child from the rear passenger side.

Another witness t old Global News that the boy was still strapped in a car seat when he was removed from the vehicle.

“He didn’t have much of a pulse then. … It didn’t look good,” the witness said.

Police said the child was rushed to hospital unconscious, but later died.

Hopkinson said it’s too early to say whether the heat inside the car caused the child’s death, but said the case serves as a stark reminder of the perils of hot vehicles.

“We have a very hot start to our fall season,” he said. “It’s is a horrible reminder ... why it is so important not to leave kids or pets in a car unattended.”

Hopkinson said police are still investigating the case to determine how the child came to be left in the car rather than dropped off at his destination.

He said the child had been in the vehicle for “several hours,” but could not offer a more specific length of time.

Hopkinson said an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.

The child’s name was not released.

Zeljna Kosovac appeared in court Friday charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death, and was released on $5,000 bail.

Hopkinson said Kosovac had a connection to the boy’s family, but said the specific nature of the role she played in the boy’s life was not yet known.