COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Columbia County father whose 16-month-old daughter died in a hot car in Lake City will not face charges, according to the State Attorney's Office.
The girl died in 90-degree temperatures in May.
The father of the child, who formerly worked as an assistant public defender, Young Kwon was supposed to drop the child off at day care before work.
The State Attorney's Office said there were no aggravating circumstances that warrant prosecution in the case.
The State Attorney's Office wrote that "this was a loss of concentration based upon a change in Mr. Kwon's normal routine."
Under Florida law it's illegal to leave a child under 6 years old in a vehicle for more than 15 minutes.
The child in this case was left in the vehicle for more than six hours.
"I think it's ridiculous. How can you forget about your child?" Lake City resident Geoffery Harrell said.
Harrell questioned whether the mother's position as an assistant state attorney and the father's former position played a role in Kwon avoiding prosecution.
"I think they should be prosecuted just like anybody else," Harrell said. "If it happened to me or you then we'd be in prison."
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Cars can get 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the actual temperature outside.
"We all cried for it," neighbor Oscar Valido said. " I used to see the little girl walk here and it's terrible. Somebody has to pay for that. If it were me you know I think they'll charge me for it."
The FDLE released the 911 call Tuesday because the case is now closed.
"The baby was in the car and I think the baby is dead," a relative said in the 911 call.
"You think the baby is dead?" the 911 operator asks. "Yes," the caller responded.
At one point Young Kwon can be heard in the background.
"This is Young. Is Wendy there?" he said.
The 911 operator tried to guide the caller in performing CPR on the baby but the caller said she believed the baby was already gone.
"She's been in the car all day," the caller said.
Action News Jax found inconsistencies in how similar cases have been handled in Florida.
In June, a toddler in the Panhandle died after her mother left her in the car and prosecutors decided not to file charges either.
In 2014, Michelle King was arrested and charged with neglect in Nassau County after her child was treated for heat exhaustion after being left in a hot car.
In Rockledge in 2014, Steven Lillie was charged with third-degree felony murder after his daughter died in a hot car.
WJAX
