- Joined
- Jul 7, 2018
- Messages
- 36,961
- Reaction score
- 243,395
A Treasure Coast father is behind bars after leaving his child in a vehicle for hours, which resulted in the child's death.
At 1:17 p.m. on Monday, Port St. Lucie police officers responded to reports of a 2-year-old that had been left for several hours inside a car parked within the 1700 block of Southeast Aires Lane.
According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, the child's father, James Fidele, 37, called 911 after realizing he forgot to take his toddler out of his vehicle when he arrived home on Monday morning.
Investigators say after speaking with Fidele, he told them he dropped his four other kids off at school and came back home around 8:15 a.m. to begin work from his home office.
It wasn’t until around 1:15 p.m. when he says he went to grab a package from that car, that he realized the toddler was unconscious with his eyes open in the back seat.
However, police say a search warrant verified that there is a rear seat reminder safety alert in place in the SUV Fidele was driving.
They also say nearby Ring camera video from a neighbor's home shows Fidele had “no urgency” in regard to getting his son out of the vehicle.
Criminal Investigations Division Detectives arrested and charged Fidele with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm.
www.wpbf.com
At 1:17 p.m. on Monday, Port St. Lucie police officers responded to reports of a 2-year-old that had been left for several hours inside a car parked within the 1700 block of Southeast Aires Lane.
According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, the child's father, James Fidele, 37, called 911 after realizing he forgot to take his toddler out of his vehicle when he arrived home on Monday morning.
Investigators say after speaking with Fidele, he told them he dropped his four other kids off at school and came back home around 8:15 a.m. to begin work from his home office.
It wasn’t until around 1:15 p.m. when he says he went to grab a package from that car, that he realized the toddler was unconscious with his eyes open in the back seat.
However, police say a search warrant verified that there is a rear seat reminder safety alert in place in the SUV Fidele was driving.
They also say nearby Ring camera video from a neighbor's home shows Fidele had “no urgency” in regard to getting his son out of the vehicle.
Criminal Investigations Division Detectives arrested and charged Fidele with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm.

Father arrested after 2-year-old left in car for hours, dies in Port St. Lucie
James Fidele, 37, called 911 after realizing he forgot to take his toddler out of his vehicle when he arrived home on Monday morning.
