To many parents, accidentally leaving your child in a car might seem impossible — but the majority of hot car deaths occur when someone forgets a child in their car, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unfortunately, this might be what happened over the summer when a toddler in Michigan was found unresponsive in his dad’s car.
On August 13, a 3-year-old toddler was found dead in the back seat of a car at a Family Fare grocery store in Vicksburg, Michigan. Police say the toddler likely died from heat exhaustion, per WWMT.
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The dad allegedly didn't know his toddler was still in the car.
On August 13, the dad went to work at about 6:40 a.m. and left around 3 p.m., WOOD TV reported. When he went to Family Fare to buy groceries after work, he reportedly didn’t realize his toddler was still in his car. After a few minutes in the grocery store, he returned to his car and found his son unresponsive in the back seat.
He doesn't know what happened that day.
When he discovered his toddler in the back seat, the dad started crying. According to a police report obtained by WOOD TV, the dad “did not know how [his son] got there.” The police report says he told investigators: “I guess I went straight to work,” suggesting that he forgot to drop his son off at day care before going to work that day.
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The toddler likely died from heat exhaustion, according to initial reports.
According to initial reports, the toddler likely died from heat exhaustion, per WWMT. The temperature was around 83 degrees at the time, according to the police report that WOOD TV obtained. Investigators have not released the names of those involved in the incident. A bystander reportedly intervened when they saw the dad crying that day, and asked a store employee to contact 911.
The dad did not do anything different that day.
During the investigation, investigators asked the dad if anything unusual happened that day. However, the dad said that he hadn’t used any drugs or alcohol, per WOOD TV.
He told investigators he was not in a hurry to get to work that day and wasn’t having trouble sleeping. Per the report, the dad “never checks the backseat when he gets to work” and “always rolls the windows up at work.”
It's unclear if the dad is facing criminal charges.
When the toddler was found dead in August, Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams described the investigation to WWMT. “We’ll look at all the evidence; we’ll talk with the witnesses if that’s appropriate; we’ll certainly talk with the officers if that’s appropriate in a case; we’ll look at all those and decide if criminal charges are appropriate, and if so, which ones,” Williams said at the time.
WOOD TV reported it’s unclear if the dad will face charges.
