The 1-year-old girl who died Monday had been left for about five hours in a day care van outside a midtown Omaha child care center as the heat index climbed to triple digits, according to court documents.

A day after her death, Ra’Miyah Worthington’s family and friends demanded answers and justice for the little girl.

As the heat index reached 110 degrees late Tuesday morning, about 40 people gathered outside Kidz of the Future II Childcare Center.

Under the blistering sun, Ra’Miyah’s friends and family chanted her name as they wiped away sweat and tears.

“If we’re hot just standing out here now,” Crystal Johnson, a cousin of Ra’Miyah’s mother, said through tears, “Imagine how Ra’Miyah must have felt.”

Omaha Fire Department medics were called to the day care center, located at 50th and Leavenworth Streets, shortly after 3 p.m. Monday. Ra’Miyah was unresponsive when paramedics arrived, and she died after being transported to the Nebraska Medical Center with CPR in progress.

When Ra’Miyah arrived at the hospital, her body temperature was approximately 109 degrees, according to court documents. Based on the route of the van and surveillance footage from the day care, it’s estimated that Ra’Miyah was in the van for about five hours.

The air temperature measured 96 degrees shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, according to National Weather Service data recorded at Eppley Airfield. The heat index was measured at 113 degrees.

The van’s driver, 62-year-old Ryan D. Williams, was arrested Monday night on suspicion of felony child abuse by neglect resulting in death. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.

Ra’Miyah’s parents told police that Williams picked up Ra’Miyah and two of her siblings on Monday and took them to day care, like he does every morning.

Ra’Miyah’s mother, Sina Johnson, said in an interview that on Monday she received a text from Charkel Smith, the day care’s director and coordinator, at 2:57 p.m. When Johnson called Smith, Smith was “screaming hysterically” and told Johnson to come to the day care immediately.

Sina Johnson said when she arrived at the day care, neither Smith nor police were on scene. She went inside and was told by Keesha Wesson, who is listed in state records as the day care’s owner, that Ra’Miyah was at the hospital.

Williams later told police that he had nine children in his van when he arrived at the day care and became distracted when a young boy did not want to get out of the van, according to an arrest affidavit. Another staff member came to help Williams and they got the boy out of the van. Then Williams closed the van.

Williams said he normally conducts a “sweep” of the van to make sure no one is left behind but did not on Monday, the affidavit said. When he went out several hours later, he found Ra’Miyah lying on the floor in the back seat, picked her up and rushed her inside to call 911.

Williams said “he was the only staff member in the vehicle and had made a mistake in forgetting the child in the van,” the affidavit said.

Ra’Miyah’s death leaves five siblings without their baby sister, her parents heartbroken and an entire community demanding answers.

“They forgot my daughter in the van,” Sina Johnson said. “But we won’t forget her. I want the center shut down. I want this to be Ra’Miyah’s corner.”

Sina Johnson said three of her children, including Ra’Miyah, had attended the day care center for about five years without any prior issues.

Voicemails left with Smith and Wesson were not immediately returned Tuesday.

At Tuesday’s protest outside the now-closed day care center, attendees called for the center to be shut down and for the driver, as well as other employees of the center, to face consequences.

Aside from seeking justice for her death, family members are dedicated to keeping Ra’Miyah’s memory alive. The girl’s aunts and parents recalled her bright smile and infectious laugh, and noted that she never cried — unless she wanted her dad, her favorite person, to hold her.

“She was my whole world,” said Rianna Worthington, Ra’Miyah’s father. “She was always, always happy. I got my life together because of her.”

State records show that Kidz of the Future II is owned by Wesson, and Smith’s voicemail identifies her as the director and coordinator of the center. A recent unannounced inspection in May found that proof of liability insurance was not available at the time of inspection, but that violation was fixed the same day.

The day care, when located in another building, was placed on corrective action status, a type of probationary license, after a 2017 incident in which a 5-year-old child was allegedly left unattended for at least 10 to 15 minutes at Gene Leahy Mall during a field trip. The child was found by someone in the park, who called police. The probationary period expired in February 2018.

Amber Rollins, director of Kids and Car Safety of Olathe, Kansas, said four children in Nebraska have died since 1990 as the result of being in a hot vehicle. Ra’Miyah is at least the 19th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2023 and first in Nebraska since 2019, she said.

More than 1,050 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990 and at least another 7,300 survived with varying types and severities of injuries, according to data at kidsandcars.org.

“Approximately 87% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger and the majority, 56%, were unknowingly left by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver,” Rollins said. “Of the children who were unknowingly left, about 12% were left by a childcare provider.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to cover Ra’Miyah’s funeral expenses.

Photos: Family, community members gather outside Kidz of the Future Il day care after death of one-year-old