JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 1-year-old boy died at a hospital late Sunday night after his mother found him not breathing in his room, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police said Crystal Roman put her son, Jace, down on a bottom bunk bed to go to sleep and closed the door earlier in the night at their Westside condo in the 5100 block of Playpen Drive. She checked on him about 11:30 p.m. and saw him hunched over in a car seat that was on the floor in front of the bed, police said.
The seat belt was buckled and Jace was not breathing, Roman told police.
Jace was taken to Wolfson Children's Hospital, where he died.
Police and the Florida Department of Children and Families are investigating the death, but police said foul play is not suspected at this time.
"We need to find out more information about what was happening in the home at the time of this incident," DCF spokesman John Harrell said. "We also want to find out what the living situation was for the child in that home. Had there been any other concerns regarding a lack of supervision?"
Car seats are made to keep children safe, but when they are left alone and a baby is in there, that's when the problems occur, Harrell said.
"The danger here is you have a child playing with it, and especially an infant," Harrell said. "Well, what if that turns over and the infant is not going to be able to get out or is strangled in these cords. You know, it only takes a few moments for something bad to happen."