Toddler left alone in hot day care van

A worker at a Brevard County child care center has been charged with child neglect for leaving a 19-month-old boy locked in a van.

Rondalyn Dixon was arrested Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a Brevard County deputy had to knock out a window from the van to rescue the toddler.

Dixon, 33, worked at Carolyn’s Life Learning Center, near the corner of West King Street and Grace Avenue. She was released after posting a $2,000 bond late Tuesday night.

Deputies said the boy’s mother called the Sheriff’s Office when her son was never dropped off at home.

That was when a deputy came by the center, looked in the van and saw the toddler inside.

Dixon told investigators no one was home when she went to drop off the child at the beginning of her usual route.

She said she simply forgot about him, and didn’t notice he had crawled under the van’s seats and fell asleep.

“The child could have been in there for a couple of hours, which -- with the heat and humidity, it’s a possibility the child could have perished at that point,” said Lt. Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for heat exhaustion. He was released Monday night.

The Florida Department of Children and Families said it will investigate this incident, and whether Dixon and the center followed all safety measures.

Goodyear said Dixon has cooperated fully with sheriff’s investigators.

Parents said what happened was awful, but defended both the center and Dixon.

“Those people are not like that,” said one parent. “The owner is a woman of God and a pillar of this community. She’s helped out a lot of us, and the young lady that did this is not that kind of person.”

Dixon faces charges of child neglect. The day care center could also be fined or even lose its license.