Rockledge father who left baby in truck sends message to other parents

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — WFTV talked to a man whose 9-month-old daughter died after he accidentally left the infant in his truck while he went to work.

Stephen Lillie said it was love at first sight the day he first laid eyes on his daughter, Anna.

“She lit up my life. She was a very important piece of who I am,” Lillie said.

He said the 9-month-old had a big smile and even bigger cheeks, just like her dad.

“She just started saying, ‘Dada.’ She would run around the house in her little walker,” Lillie said.

On Monday, a day where Lillie said nothing seemed to be routine, he rushed to work and forgot to drop the baby off at her grandmother’s house.

The infant was left in his truck outside his office in the hot sun for hours.

By the time he realized where she was, it was too late—the baby had died.

“I would have much rather been the one suffering,” Lillie said. “Understand that there was not an ounce in my soul that wanted this to happen.”

Lillie acknowledged the situations are preventable and said he wants others to learn from his mistake.

“Keep something in the front seat to remind you, you know that the baby is there,” he said. “Just double-check everything.”

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