HILAND PARK — Cedar Grove Elementary officials wiped away tears Wednesday as they recalled the death of a toddler found dead a day earlier in a heated vehicle at the school.
Reagan Buckley, 2, was pronounced dead at the school Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said her mother, Jamie Buckley, left her in the car in the school parking lot while she was teaching classes.
No charges have been filed in the case, but the Bay County Sheriff Office investigation continued Wednesday. The State Attorney’s Office is not currently involved in the case and will not be so until BCSO completes its investigation and turns over the case to the state attorney, spokesman David Angier said.
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Christy Williamson, a literacy coach at Cedar Grove, knew Jamie Buckley and said the mother is the educator every parent wants their child to have, someone who finds the good in her peers and students.
“It’s somber,” Williamson said. “Teachers are grieving. They’re hurting. They’re hurting for Ms. Buckley. She’s an outstanding educator.”
Williamson said the Buckley family worked on mowing grass and sprucing up the campus during a recent cleanup day at the school, and Jamie Buckley bragged on her children every day.
“I’m proud to say I know her,” Williamson said.
Deputies reported Jamie Buckley arrived for work between 7 and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and forgot her daughter was in the vehicle. When Jamie Buckley left school for the day, she found the child still in her car seat, BCSO reported.
Deputies found the child unresponsive when they arrived. Cedar Grove Principal Phillip Campbell said there were no witness reports given to the school about the child being in the car beforehand.
Account set up: Friends of the Buckley family set up a GoFundMe account, where financial donations can be made during their grieving.
“The Buckley family has suffered an unimaginable loss,” the account description says. “Prayers and financial support are needed to continue providing for them during this difficult time.”
Campbell spoke Wednesday about the mood and fallout at the school.
“We’ve experienced a tragic accident,” Campbell said. “We’ve had an outpouring of outside support, of prayers, from the community. We continue to be a very strong family here at Cedar Grove and that will help us get through this.”
Counselors, school district staff members and Superintendent Bill Husfelt were at the school Wednesday for support, Campbell said, along with extra law enforcement. Counseling staff talked to students individually, with services available through the end of the school year.
Kay Daniel, a social worker with the school district, was part of a team of the grief counselors. The team talked to students, teachers and staff, and part of the grief counseling for young students was letting children lead the conversation, Daniel said.
Campbell said the school was keeping operations “as normal as possible,” with a planned awards ceremony still occurring. Parents were informed that events like a fifth-grade graduation and year-end celebrations still would happen, as well, Campbell said.
“You want to keep as much normalcy and you want to get back to normalcy as fast as you can,” Campbell said. “That’s the best thing you can do in these situations. Stay busy. Stay focused. Remind them that life goes on.”
--- MORE: TODDLER DIES IN HOT CAR»»
--- DOCUMENT: CHILD-CAR SAFETY TIPS»»
--- WEB: GOFUNDME ACCOUNT FOR THE FAMILY»»
Tuesday’s death marks the third time this year a child in the U.S. has died after being left in a vehicle, and all the cases occurred in Florida. According to kidsandcars.org, the average number of similar deaths each year is 38, or about one every nine days. Since 1991, more than 700 children have died after being left in hot vehicles. The high temperature at Tyndall Air Force Base on Tuesday was 82 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“The atmosphere and the windows of a car are relatively ‘transparent’ to the sun’s shortwave radiation and are warmed little,” noheatstroke.org said on how vehicle heating works. “However, this shortwave energy does heat objects that it strikes. For example, a dark dashboard, steering wheel or seat temperatures often are in the range of 180 to over 200 degrees.”
Some safety tips from kidsandcars.org include never leaving your child alone in or around cars, keeping the vehicle locked at all times, making sure all children have left a vehicle after parking and using drive-through services when available.