“It appears that the baby was left in the school bus,’’ Edward F. Davis, Boston’s police commissioner, told reporters gathered on Blue Hill Avenue, with Floyd Street blocked by police tape. “We don’t know exactly how long, but a significant amount of time.’’
Davis said the driver of the van reported discovering the child and that the man, who was identified as the spouse of the day-care owner, was transported to a hospital with complaints of chest pains.
“Obviously, we’re going to talk to him,’’ Davis said.
The owners of the three-decker on Floyd Street run a pair of related but separate businesses: a basement child-care center and a transportation company that takes children to and from day-care centers.
According to two officials with knowledge of the investigation, the child was not supposed to be at the Floyd Street day-care center.
But city officials said they were shutting the day-care business at that address, Gloria Family Day Care - also known as Gloria Luna’s Family Day Care - because the building lacked fire extinguishers or carbon monoxide detectors.
The owners of the day-care center, which is in the building’s basement, also lacked evacuation and emergency plans and were unable to provide a city certificate of inspection or a certificate of occupancy, said Lisa Timberlake, spokeswoman for Boston’s Inspectional Services Department.
“The city is responsible for issuing a certificate of occupancy that would allow the place to operate as a day care and also issue a certificate of inspection, and they had neither,’’ Darryl Smith, the department’s assistant commissioner, said last night. “Currently, the day care will be closed down.’’
The center will be closed until at least Thursday morning, when a hearing has been scheduled at the department’s office. A hearing officer will present the violations to the property owners, who will have an opportunity to explain how they plan to correct the problems at the center, Timberlake said.
The hearing officer would review the case to determine whether the center should reopen, a process that could take several days, she said.
