Florida Dad Left 18-Month-Old To Die in Hot Truck While He Drank at a Bar

A Florida man has been arrested and charged in the death of his 18-month-old son, who was left in a scorching vehicle for over three hours while the father visited a barbershop and then drank at a bar.

Scott Allen Gardner, 33, is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. He is currently being held in the Volusia County Jail without bond.

Authorities say Gardner left his young son, Sebastian, inside a truck on June 6 while temperatures outside hovered around 90 degrees. Although the windows were cracked and a small fan was running, the heat inside the vehicle reportedly rose to deadly levels, authorities said in a news release. 

“This father is a human piece of garbage, and he’s a lying sack of s—,” Sheriff Michael Chitwood said during a press conference. “He’s actually where he belongs, behind bars… There’s no reason for this little boy to be dead.” The child’s mother, who lives in a different county, was not involved in the incident, the sheriff’s office confirmed.

According to the investigation, Gardner arrived at Classic Cuts barbershop at approximately 11:30 a.m., leaving Sebastian in the truck while he got a haircut. Around noon, he walked across the street to Hanky Panky’s Lounge, where he drank beer and took shots for nearly three hours. He finally left the bar at 2:40 p.m.

Gardner then drove to his mother’s nearby residence and called 911. When officers from the Ormond Beach Police Department arrived, Sebastian was already deceased. Medical staff reported the toddler’s body temperature exceeded 107 degrees, and they estimated the interior of the truck may have reached up to 111 degrees.

Authorities believe the child had been dead for approximately two hours before Gardner made the emergency call. In body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office, Gardner is seen pleading with officers to save his son, though his attempts came too late.

Shockingly, that same evening, Gardner returned to Hanky Panky’s Lounge for more drinks—this time accompanied by his mother, who authorities believe was unaware of the day’s events. “I don’t think there’s a penalty on this Earth that could ever fit for the crime that was committed here,” Chitwood told reporters. “It absolutely shocks the conscience.”

As the case unfolds, officials continue to investigate the full extent of Gardner’s actions and are urging the public to understand the deadly risks of leaving children in hot vehicles.