SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A mother has been charged in her 1-year-old daughter's hot car death, officials from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said.
Kailyn Pollard, 29, of Sorrento, was charged with negligent manslaughter Friday night after being brought in for questioning about the girl's death.
The toddler, Kit Noelle Pollard, was found at 4:40 p.m. at a Sanford Wawa location on State Road 46, according to the Seminole County Fire Department. Officials said she showed no vital signs and was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest.
According to Pollard's arrest report, Kit was left in the car from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. while Pollard was at work at iQ Power. The report states that Pollard, who would normally drop her daughter off at a local day care, failed to do so Friday.
Authorities said Pollard told them that she didn't notice her daughter's body until after she had gotten back in her car after work, went to a nearby Olive Garden to pick up food and then stopped at Wawa to fuel the car. Around 4:30 p.m., Pollard "ultimately became aware that her daughter was
in the back seat" when she got out to put gas in the car, according to the report.
It's unclear if Pollard was planning to go by her daughter's day care as well.
In the report, the arresting deputy said the car seat, which was directly behind the driver's side, was rear-facing. The deputy also described a small mirror on the headrest in front of the car seat, which could be used "for direct visual connection with the driver and car seat rider via rear view mirror."
Pollard was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital due to extreme anxiety, deputies said. They said she was uncooperative with the investigation and requested an attorney.
Sanford experienced record high temperatures Friday. The high was 96 degrees, two degrees hotter than the previous record high on that date, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Kit's death was the second hot car fatality reported in Central Florida on Friday, the first being a 4-year-old in Orange County.
Pollard's attorney, Kyle Fletcher, had no comment after her initial court appearance Saturday. The baby's father and grandfather were also in court. They had nothing to say as they were leaving the jail.
Pollard is being held at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on $20,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 23.