The Surete du Quebec is investigating the death of a toddler outside a daycare in St. Jerome.
The child was discovered around dinnertime Wednesday outside the CPE Notre Dame at 570 rue des Pres.
Police officers from the city of St. Jerome were the first to investigate the scene, and they cordoned off the area around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before they handed over the file to the SQ.
On Thursday morning police confirmed the child was found in a car outside the CPE.
Multiple parents told CTV Montreal that the father of the child arrived at the daycare on Wednesday to pick up his child, only to discover the infant had been left in the car all day.
"I was told that the father came to pick up his child, but he wasn't there," said daycare employee Dominique Charron. "That's when he realized he'd forgotten him in the car."
Multiple witnesses said daycare workers perfomed first aid on the child but the baby had already died.
"It's sad. People might say, 'How can you forget your child in your car?'" said Lyne Lafleur, who lives near the daycare. "But we don't know what he was going through."
Director Huguette Tremblay said the CPE would be open as usual on Thursday, adding that a psychologist would be on hand for any staff members that wanted to discuss the death.
She said she would also speak to all parents as they dropped off their children for the day.
The child was registered to attend the daycare.
An autopsy will be performed to confirm the exact cause of death.
It's not the first time a child has died under such circumstances in Quebec. In 2003, a two-year-old girl died after her father left her in the backseat of his vehicle. He was charged with manslaughter, though charges were later dropped.
