A two-year-old boy died after being left in the backseat of a car for hours by his dad. Shawn Rounsavall, 51, has been charged with reckless murder after the horrific incident.
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The father had gone to a local daycare around 4.30pm to pick up his son, but staff told him the boy was never dropped off that morning.
Rounsavall then discovered his son still in the backseat of his car and rushed him to a hospital.
Unfortunately, the child was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
Investigators said Rounsavall had worked the whole day at his restaurant in the community’s downtown while the child remained inside the car.
Temperatures around Atmore, Alabama, had been about 80F (27C) on Monday, according to the Weather Channel.
"This is a terrible, terrible tragedy,” Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks told FOX10. “This community is shocked.”
Brooks said the death was unintentional, but because of the negligence shown by the father which he said led to the toddler’s death, Rounsavall now faces a reckless murder charge.
“Because of the reckless…or the disregard for the child, you know…a criminal charge, he was arrested for that particular incident,” he explained.
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Brooks also said: “As a law enforcement officer, we have to put our personal opinions to the side.
“Like I said, this has been a hard, hard case to work. My officers have been affected by it and we will deal with that and get them the help that they need to get past this.”
According to the nonprofit child safety organisation Kids and Car Safety, an average of 39 children die each year in a hot car-related death in the United States.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there have been more than 900 deaths since 1998, and the majority happen because someone forgets a child in a car.
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