Opa-locka parks director accused of leaving a 5-year-old in city van overnight

Opa-locka’s parks director has been relieved of her duties after being charged in connection with an incident in which a 5-year-old child was left unattended inside a city vehicle for more than eight hours overnight.

The case dates to March 11, when Parks Director Zonya Ray was transporting juveniles to football practice in a city van. According to arrest documents, Ray was unaware that the child had entered and remained inside the vehicle after the trip concluded.

The following day, Ray provided a statement to the Opa-locka Police Department, acknowledging that she should have checked the vehicle before leaving for the night.

Ray has been charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

Court records reviewed by CBS News Miami show Ray is not currently facing a misdemeanor charge. However, Florida law states that leaving a child younger than 6 years old unattended in a motor vehicle for more than 15 minutes is a second-degree misdemeanor.

The city manager issued a statement saying the city is aware of the incident, takes the matter seriously and confirmed that Ray had been relieved of her duties.

Ray was arrested on April 30, nearly two months after the incident occurred. CBS News Miami first began investigating the incident in April after receiving a tip, but Opa-locka police had initially declined to release information, citing an active investigation.

In an effort to reach Ray for comments, CBS News Miami visited two addresses linked to her and placed a phone call, but those efforts were unanswered.

The news outlet also reached out to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office seeking information about the investigation’s timeline and whether additional or upgraded charges are being considered. As of Wednesday evening, the office had not responded. Ray was set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.

This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.