An 18-month-old has tragically died after his father allegedly left him in a car for three hours to get a haircut and go to the bar.
Scott Allen Gardner, a 33‑year‑old Florida father, has been arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect in the tragic death of his 18‑month‑old son, Sebastian, per ABC News.
He allegedly left his son “helpless in a hot truck” for over three hours while he got a haircut and drank at Hanky Panky’s Lounge in Ormond Beach on June 6.
Authorities say outside temperatures reached 92 °F on the afternoon in question, and medical personnel estimated Sebastian’s body temperature rose to a deadly 111 °F from heat exposure inside the vehicle.
Despite life‑saving efforts by law enforcement, the toddler did not survive.
Gardner reportedly provided “multiple false accounts” to police during the investigation.
He was located at his mother’s Ormond Beach home, where the same Ormond Beach officer who had attempted to revive Sebastian placed him in handcuffs.
Reports noted that as he was led away, two individuals called out to him, saying they loved him, per the New York Post.
Gardner was booked into Volusia County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office said further details would be released as the investigation continues.
Local outlets described the incident as the seventh hot‑car death of the year in Florida, underscoring the rapid and lethal risks posed by high temperatures enclosed in vehicles.
In another tragic story about a hot-car death, a father made a heartbreaking discovery after forgetting his one-year-old daughter inside a hot car for an entire day.
Little Olivia Ancelet died after spending hours trapped in the back of her father’s vehicle as temperatures soared to 86°F.
Her father, Etienne Ancelet, only realized the tragic mistake when he arrived at a childcare center around 5:30PM on Tuesday, February 4, per News.com.au.
He was there to pick up Olivia, only to be told she had never been dropped off that morning.
The horrifying truth hit him: his daughter was still in the car.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of an unresponsive baby in a vehicle, but it was already too late. Olivia was pronounced dead.
In a joint statement, Ancelet and Olivia’s mother, Kim Visconti, remembered their daughter as the “light of our lives” and a “sweet and beautiful baby.”
“We are humbled and grateful for the time we had her. We are devastated by what has unfolded,” the statement read.
“We do not wish this on any parent. We will always cherish our time with our beautiful girl. She was loved by all that knew her... It is an unimaginable time of sorrow for us.”
New South Wales Police Superintendent Christine McDonald addressed the press, calling the incident “an absolute tragedy” and “a most traumatic event.”
She issued a stern reminder about the dangers of leaving children in vehicles: “Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous. Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly.”