Two Democratic state lawmakers

Proposals unveiled after August death of local 3-year-old

offer a proposed law they say would save the lives of children by requiring alarms in vehicles used by day care centers and large family child-care homes.

Two Democratic state lawmakers on Monday unveiled bills they say would save the lives of children by requiring alarms in vehicles used by day care centers and large family child-care homes.

In the wake of the death in August of 3-year-old Myles Hill, Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, and Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando, have introduced identical bills mandating that vehicles transporting children have a reliable alarm system, they said at a news conference.

Myles’ grandfather, Corey Esters, said he supports the bill as a good first step.

“It seems like nothing is getting done fast enough,” he said. “If you sweep it under the rug and nothing else is being done about it, tomorrow it may be somebody else’s kid.”

Stewart said the alarms, which would be required starting in 2019, would cost day care centers between $100 and $700 each. The bill would require the Florida Department of Children and Families to keep a list of approved devices.

“We’ve seen a number of deaths throughout many years, and there’s simply no reason for that,” Stewart said. “They’re not following the protocol we are asking them to follow, so I think we need a technology that would be able to make sure everyone in a commercial day care van is removed from the van.”

Myles, who would have turned 4 later in August, according to his obituary, died of an elevated body temperature after being left in a Little Miracles Academy van for about 12 hours on Aug. 7. The temperature inside was estimated to have reached 140 degrees.

Deborah St. Charles, 51, a day care employee, picked up Myles at his home that morning and drove him and five other children to the Little Miracles location at 2514 W. Colonial Drive, records show. She did not check to see whether everyone had gotten out of the van, which she parked at a second Little Miracles center, court documents state.

The state revoked Little Miracles Academy’s operating license three days after Myles died. St. Charles was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. She has pleaded not

guilty.

Myles’ death has left his family reeling, Esters said. The family has sued St. Charles and center owner Audrey Thornton, accusing them of negligence. Thornton publicly apologized to the family two days after Myles died, saying she loved him and had taken care of him since he was a baby.

“You don’t want this to happen to you,” Esters said. “People can tell you how to feel, but no one can truly feel how you feel unless you are in this situation.”

The Florida Department of Children and Families said the center failed to properly maintain transportation logs and provide adequate employees to transport the children. The agency also said St. Charles was not an approved Little Miracles Academy driver.

So far this year, 39 children have died in hot vehicles in the U.S. — the same number as in all of 2016, according to KidsandCars.org, a nonprofit child safety organization devoted to preventing injuries and death to children from vehicle-related incidents. Janette Fennell, president of KidsandCars.org, said the proposed bill is a good thing.

“You can never be too safe with children,” she said.

Stewart said the bill is a “no-brainer” for lawmakers to support because it would help save lives. Antone and Stewart said Democrats and Republicans have expressed support.

“I think this has a very good chance of going through to the governor’s desk,” Stewart said.

Antone called it a “simple bill” and said he knows of no opposition. He called Myles’ death heartbreaking. “When you follow the details of this story, there’s so many things that could have been done to prevent this,” he said. “If this one piece of technology, whether it’s an app, a seat or a sensor — whatever it is — then we think it’s the right thing to do.”

Antone said the bill could start going through committee in November or December.

Stewart said any child-care center concerned about the cost of an alarm system could apply for grants or ask for donations. The device is well worth the price if it can save a life, she said. Esters said the price shouldn’t matter. “I don’t care what it costs,” he said. “A child’s life, that’s priceless.”