A Connecticut father is accused of leaving his 1-year-old son inside a hot car while he worked on his family’s strawberry farm, a decision that ended in tragedy.
Kevin Pell, 47, called 911 on Aug. 15 after returning to the vehicle in Broad Brook and finding his baby boy unresponsive, according to the East Windsor Police Department.
“My son might be dead, 1-year-old,” Pell reportedly told the dispatcher.
Moments later, he became increasingly distraught.
“Oh my god he’s dead,” Pell said. “I think he’s dead.”
During the emergency call, Pell also allegedly acknowledged that the vehicle’s air conditioning had not been running.
“The heat, I didn’t have the AC on,” he reportedly said.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene and immediately began performing CPR on the child.
The baby was transported to Connecticut Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
According to an arrest warrant, the 1-year-old had been left inside the vehicle in direct sunlight with all of the windows closed.
Investigators described conditions inside the car as “not habitable for the child.”
Police said Pell’s account of what happened later changed.
Although he allegedly told the 911 dispatcher that the air conditioning was not running, Pell reportedly told officers at the scene that he had left his sleeping son inside the vehicle with the AC on for approximately one hour.
Authorities allege Pell had been working and picking strawberries at his family’s farm while the child remained in the car.
Pell was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a child.
He was later released after posting $1 million bail.
Police said additional charges remain possible depending on the final results of the baby’s autopsy.
Pell appeared in court Thursday but did not enter a plea.
He is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 16.
The case remains under investigation.
