An Alabama father has been arrested after authorities say his 1-year-old son was found dead while still strapped into a car seat on a day when temperatures climbed into the mid-90s.
The heartbreaking discovery was made around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at a residence in Brookwood, located in Tuscaloosa County. Family members reportedly contacted authorities after the child was found unresponsive.
According to officials, early findings suggest the little boy had been inside a vehicle for an extended period of time.
“Initial investigation shows that the child was in the vehicle for an extended [amount] of time,” Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy said in a statement, according to ABC News.
Kennedy also noted that temperatures that afternoon reached as high as the mid-90s.
The child, reported by WBRC to be a boy, had allegedly been in the “sole care of its father all day,” Kennedy said.
The father has been identified as 30-year-old Logan Keith Chewning. Authorities say Chewning allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol multiple times throughout the day.
Investigators also said Chewning allegedly left the residence at one point to buy more alcohol.
“The father reported that he believed that the child had been sleeping in its crib but must have been left behind in the vehicle,” Kennedy said, according to ABC News.
Chewning has since been charged with manslaughter, according to records from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Records also show charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree possession of marijuana. It is currently unclear whether those charges are connected to the child’s death.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue working to determine exactly what happened in the hours before the toddler was found.
The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office and Brookwood Police did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Why are parents having kids when they have no parental skills
Looks like a chick magnet!!!
lol