A father from Florida is accused of leaving his vulnerable toddler to suffer in a hot car for several hours while he got a haircut and had a drink at a bar, despite the scorching temperatures.
According to police, 33-year-old Scott Allen Gardner allegedly left his 18-month-old son, Sebastian, locked in his intensely hot truck while he refreshed his haircut and visited Hanky Panky’s Lounge in Ormond Beach, Florida, on June 6.
The little boy was abandoned inside the vehicle under the blistering heat for more than three hours while the outside temperature soared to 92 degrees, as reported by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook.
Medical examiners estimate the baby’s body temperature reached a deadly 111 degrees as he sat in the truck.
Law enforcement agents performed life-saving measures on Sebastian, but the baby ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office alleges Gardner is responsible for little Sebastian’s death as he enjoyed a day in the Ormond-by-the-Sea neighborhood, eight miles north of Daytona Beach.
The heartless father allegedly gave multiple false accounts to police of the events leading up to his son’s death, the sheriff’s office said.
Gardner was arrested on Thursday after police tracked him down to his mother’s home in Ormond Beach.
Gardner was booked into Volusia County Jail and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm.
He was handed a $100,000 bond.
Bodycam footage from the sheriff’s office captured the moment the deadbeat dad was detained inside an enclosed porch on the property.
“The same OBPD officer who tried to revive Sebastian placed Gardner in handcuffs today as he was taken into custody at his mother’s home in Ormond Beach,” the sheriff’s office said.
As Gardner was led away from the home, two unidentified people called out to the suspected killer, saying they loved him.
“I love you guys,” Gardner replied before one of the officers told him, “Say goodbye, because you’re not going to come back here again.”
