PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Florida authorities have charged a father with aggravated manslaughter after his 23-month-old son was left in his pickup truck for eight hours.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says 41-year-old Troy Whitaker of Palm Harbor placed his son Lawson and 5-year-old daughter in the truck Friday morning and took the girl to school.
Detectives say Whitaker drove home without taking Lawson to day care and didn’t realize the boy was still in the truck until about 4:30 p.m.
Lawson was pronounced dead at a hospital. Whitaker was released from Pinellas County jail late Friday on $50,000 bond. Jail records didn’t show whether Whitaker had an attorney.
The sheriff’s office says Whitaker works for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. A fire rescue spokesman, Corey Dierdorff, said Saturday that the agency would not comment.
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