Grandfather charged with death after 2-year-old left in hot car for 7 hours

ONEONTA, Alabama (AP) — An Alabama man is facing manslaughter charges after his 2-year-old grandson died after being left in a hot car for seven hours, officials said Wednesday.

Two-year-old Ian Weisman died Tuesday after being left in his truck for seven hours in late summer temperatures hovering around 90 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Celsius), officials said. William “Bill” Wiseman, 56, is being charged with reckless manslaughter and manslaughter for the death of his grandson, officials said.

Bill Weisman told authorities he thought he dropped his grandson off at daycare that morning. Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said Weisman returned to the truck three times that day, but he told authorities he was unaware of the child.

Authorities said the infant, strapped to a forward-facing child seat behind the driver’s seat, was found when Weisman drove to a day care center around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

“He went back to daycare thinking he’d dropped the child off, but was in the car three times that day from picking up the child to returning to daycare,” Casey said.

The district attorney announced the arrest warrant at a press conference. The charges indicate that authorities believe the child’s death was unintentional. It’s a reckless act,” Casey said of the accusations. She said an investigation was underway.

It is unclear whether Weisman has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.

Casey, a mother of two young children, held back tears when asked about her feelings surrounding her child’s death. “It’s terrible. My heart aches for this family,” she said.

At least 28 children left in cars have died in the United States this year, including six this month, according to kidsandcars.org, a website that tracks such cases.

Oneonta Police Chief Charles Clifton said at a press conference, “I think everyone I saw at the scene had children, so it’s very difficult to get involved in something like that.