Charges laid in death of three-year-old boy left in hot car
theweathernetwork.com
Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 8:13 PM - Halton Regional Police have laid charges against the father of a three-year-old boy who died of hyperthermia after being left in a hot vehicle last week in Burlington, Ont.
Shaun Pennell, 37, of Burlington has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Police say Pennell was released on a promise to appear. He is scheduled to appear in Milton Court on June 27.
"Out of respect for the family of the victim during this difficult time, privacy is requested," reads a Halton Police media release.
Police and paramedics responded to a call at around 5:30 p.m. on May 23 about an unresponsive child in a car in the parking lot of Crossroads Centre. Attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead on the scene.
The results of the autopsy, released the next day, appeared to confirm the heat was the cause of the child's death.
"A post mortem was conducted on May 24, 2018 and the preliminary cause of death was determined to be hyperthermia, consistent with the child being left in a vehicle and exposed to high temperatures for an extended period of time," a previous Halton Police news release says.
Temperatures in Burlington reached 26oC at the lake shore on Wednesday, likely higher inland.
