A tragic incident has ended with the death of a 3-year-old boy, Oliver Dill, who was forgotten in a parked car on the campus of an Indiana college.
The day was unusually hot, and the boy was not discovered until around 1:45 in the afternoon when the Sheriff’s Department received an alert about the child stuck in the car.
Responding officers found the child still in his car seat and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead shortly after, despite attempts to bring him back to life.
Authorities have been somewhat quiet on the case, refusing to reveal too many details about it, even the identity of the parent who had committed the act.
After a press conference, It was still not clear if the mother or the father was responsible for what went down. However, sources did reveal that it was the child’s dad, Dr. Andrew Dill, who forgot to take the child to the daycare, Children Learning Center, that is located on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Major Jason Ashworth said: “On my way out here the temperature in my car was in the mid-90s, so I’m certain the temperature inside the car went over 100 degrees. So obviously, parents just need to be aware and make sure they double-check their cars before they get out.”
USI president Ronald Rochon put out the following statement: “As a parent and the president of the University of Southern Indiana, I am deeply saddened to inform you of the tragic death of a young child as a result of being left in a parked car on our campus. We are supporting the work of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department in their investigation and thank USI Public Safety for their immediate response and that of the wonderful staff of the Children’s Learning Center who provided aid.”
He ended with: “Our deepest condolences go out to the family of this young child. This is a loss no parent should bear. If you have a child in your life, please hug them tight and remember that counseling services are available if you need them.”
Many have pointed out that the temperature on that day was really high, and it likely did not take long for the boy to pass out given the extreme heat.
Police have taken the opportunity to issue a warning to parents who might tend to be forgetful, urging them to double-check their cars and homes in situations like this one.
This is far from the first time something like this has gone down, and unfortunately, it does not seem like the frequency of these incidents is decreasing lately.
It is not known what the main contributing factors could be — other than basic human forgetfulness — but these incidents have been drawing more and more attention increasingly from multiple sides at this point, including concerned parents.
Authorities are not recommending that anyone be charged for the tragic incident.
