In a deeply disturbing case out of Florida, an 18-month-old boy named Sebastian tragically died after being left in a hot truck while his father drank at a bar and got a haircut. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office described the heartbreaking incident during an emotional press briefing on June 20.
According to Sheriff Mike Chitwood, the toddler’s father, Scott, left Sebastian in the truck around 11:30 a.m., with the windows down, no air conditioning, and only a small battery-powered fan aimed at him. After dropping off his son in the truck, Scott went to get a haircut and then headed to Hanky Panky’s bar, where he drank until 2 p.m.
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At one point, when someone backed into a bartender’s car outside the bar, Scott came out to inspect the damage—but he didn’t check on his son before heading back inside for more drinks. It wasn’t until around 2:40 p.m. that he finally drove home and called 911, reporting that Sebastian wasn’t breathing.
On the 911 call, Scott could be heard panicking: “My son’s not breathing. A year and a half. Oh my god. He just had his eyes open. Oh my god, Sebastian.” However, investigators believe Sebastian had already been dead for one to two hours before the call was made.
When first responders arrived, they found Sebastian in full rigor mortis and unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. His body temperature was over 107°F, and the truck’s interior temperature was estimated to have reached 111°F.
Sheriff Chitwood revealed troubling details, including inconsistencies in Scott’s story and a lack of visible distress from him or his mother, who reportedly remained at the bar until nearly midnight. Witnesses said neither seemed as upset as one would expect after such a tragedy.
While Scott’s mother may not have known about Sebastian’s death immediately, investigators confirmed that Scott gave multiple false accounts before eventually admitting to the truth.
“This father is a human piece of garbage,” Chitwood said bluntly. “There’s no logical reason why this little guy is dead. We’ve seen people forget kids in the backseat, but this was different. This was intentional. That’s what the charges are for.”
The sheriff called the case one that “absolutely shocks the conscience,” underscoring the horror of the little boy’s preventable death.
