Florida day care driver faces charges after boy found dead in van

A day care driver is facing charges after a 3-year-old boy was found dead in a parked hot van in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida, local police said Tuesday.

The boy, identified as Myles Hill who would have turned four on Aug. 22, was found on the floor at the back of the van parked at the Little Miracles Academy day care center in Orlando around 6:30 p.m. (2230 GMT) Monday, according to local media reports.

Police believed that the boy had been in the vehicle since around 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) that morning and his death was heat-related based on the evidence, Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters on Tuesday. The high temperature was reportedly about 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) in Orlando on Monday.

Charges are pending against the driver, who told police she did not do a head count when dropping off the children, Mina said.

"This was an absolute tragedy that could have been prevented," the police chief said.

The van is used by the day care center to transport children from one day care location to another, as well as pick them up and drop them off at their homes.