Florida father arrested after son left in truck for 8 hours

A Florida fireman was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of his 23-month-old son who was left in a truck for eight hours Friday. Gualtieri said the father was visibly upset because it was an unintentional act, but warned that parents needed to do better, watching over their children. Troy Whitaker has been charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Whitaker had no alcohol or drugs in his system and doesn’t suffer from mental health or memory issues, Gualtieri said.

Whitaker then drove home without taking Lawson to day care and left him unattended inside the truck until about 3:30 p.m., when he drove to a nearby grocery store, and he didn’t notice Lawson was still in the back seat of the truck until an hour later when he got home and began unloading groceries, detectives said. I’m not saying it is.

“I feel for the family, I feel for him, but he’s gotta be responsible for his actions”, the sheriff added.

An average of 37 children die each year from heatstroke after being left in vehicles, according to research by San Jose State University.

At this time past year, 21 children had died as a result of being left in a hot auto, KidsAndCars.org said. Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide recommends that parents leave their purse or wallet in the backseat as a reminder that their child is in the auto too. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article. That organization works to raise awareness about the dangers vehicles pose to children and steps that can be taken to prevent injuries and deaths. Amy Artuso said she was shocked at the rising numbers this year. “I guess we were optimistic about previous year”. “We don’t have anything scientific to back it up, but more deaths do seem to happen towards the end of the week”.

Deputies said Whitake put Lawson and his daughter, Addison, 5, into his 2011 Chevrolet pick-up truck at about 7:50 a.m. Friday.