Day camp driver suspended after leaving girl, 4, alone in van for hours

PITTSBURGH — A driver for a day camp in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood has been suspended after a 4-year-old girl was left alone in a van for hours.

Raelynn, 4, was all smiles when leaving summer camp Wednesday, but her grandmother told Channel 11's Brandon Hudson that wasn't the case Tuesday.

FREE APPS | NOW | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

• $152M Mega Millions jackpot won in Pennsylvania
• Manager offers tour of Robinson pet store at center of animal abuse allegations
• Facebook rant on parenting, respecting veterans goes viral
• Adorable photo of shelter dogs hugging saves them from euthanasia

"My granddaughter is doing excellent, thank God. The reason we're upset is because she's been through a lot in her four years,” said Raelynn’s grandmother, Anita Robinson, referring to a heart transplant the 4-year-old had a few years ago.

Robinson said a van driver took children to a summer camp on North Pacific Avenue Tuesday morning. She said her granddaughter  fell asleep during the ride there and didn’t get out when the van arrived at the community activity center.

Robinson told Hudson that Raelynn was inside the van for about two hours before her 6-year-old brother noticed she was missing and told supervisors.

"She was asleep for a while, but then she woke up is what she told us and that she was trying to get out (of) this van,” Robinson said.

Organizers of the summer camp, which is put on by the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, said the driver has been temporarily suspended.

Aggie Brose, the summer camp’s deputy director, said the driver was remorseful.

"It was very traumatic. She's a mother herself. She knows how she would feel if it was her child,” Brose said.

Raelynn’s family said they were upset because they didn’t get a phone call until later. However, Brose said a phone call was made moments after the 4-year-old was pulled out of the van.

"Everyone stopped the work they were working on. Nothing became more important than the issue at hand with the child. Everybody came together on that,” she said.

The little girl’s mother said Raelynn and her brother will continue to attend the camp but won’t be riding the van anymore.

Channel 11's Chief Meteorologist Stephen Cropper said the temperature outside Tuesday morning was 74 degrees around 9 a.m. and rose to 80 degrees by 11 a.m.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach deadly levels in only 10 minutes when outside temperatures are in the low 80s.

The administration also says bodies overheat easily, and infants and children under 4 are at the greatest risk for heat-related illnesses.

WPXI