A father from South Carolina made a grave mistake after forgetting that his twin boys, Brayden and Bryson McDaniel, were still in the back of his car.
He has not been named, but his story has been revealed. And it's a reminder of how dangerous stress can be.
The dad thought he had dropped off both boys at Sunshine House Early Learning Academy. The two 20-month-old boys were rear-facing in the back seat of his SUV. Later that day at 5:30 p.m., he went to pick them up. That's when he learned the scary truth that he hadn't dropped them off in the first place.
It was something he truly thought he did that day, but instead, he was too distracted to fully think straight. The fact that this could have happened to any parent is terrifying.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott held a press conference about the incident and made it clear that it was a horrific accidental tragedy. "I've stood up here and done a lot of press conferences in 25 years as Sheriff," he said. "This is probably one of the saddest ones I've had to stand up here and do."
He admitted that he didn't think the father's actions were in any way malicious. "The father was under some intense pressure at work that really had his mind somewhere else that day," he said. "And in his mind he had really believed he had dropped the two boys off at the day care. There was no doubt in his mind that he had done that."
In speaking to the father, the sheriff realized there was emotion and regret behind this mistake. The father knew it was his fault and felt gutted that the error cost him the lives of his young sons. As the sheriff stated, he had "pure emotion [that] was not something that you could fake."
"He went to work, thought he'd dropped his children off, worked throughout the day, went to pick his children up, and discovered that they were not in the day care center … that he'd left them in the car," the sheriff continued. He also said that this was difficult for many people working on the case as well, not just the parents of the boys. In fact, he admitted that many at the scene have already sought counseling to get through it.
"You don't even have to be a parent for something like this to have an impact on you, on your heart and on your life," he said. "It's a parents' worst nightmare, it's also a community's worst nightmare." Surely the two parents will be grieving their immense loss for the rest of their lives.
The boys were reportedly in the car for around nine and a half hours before they were discovered. "We believe the boys were placed in the vehicle around 7:30 or 8 a.m.," coroner Naida Rutherford said to WLBT. Rutherford then mentioned that when the twins were discovered deceased, it didn't look like they had suffered any additional trauma. By the time they were discovered, it was too late to save their lives.
Sheriff Leon Lott also believes that this was entirely an accident, and he gave his regards to the family of Brayden and Bryson. "Their life will never be the same. Nothing is going to replace these two boys. Nothing is going to take away the pain that this family is going to feel, particularly the father," he said.
Temperatures in the car reportedly reached around 120 degrees. Leaving your kids in a car by accident is always a risky move, but it's especially dangerous in the summer or if you live in a particularly warm climate. So how can parents prevent these horrific accidents from happening?
For one, you can make sure that any navigational reminders are set on. If you use a GPS to get around, many of them will include a way to remind parents that children are still in the vehicle. You can also see if your day care will call parents if their children haven't shown up. A simple check-in could end up saving a life.
You could also leave your purse or cellphone in the back seat next to your child's car seat. That way, you'll have no choice but to go in the back to retrieve it, which will remind yourself that your kids are still there. You can also try leaving their diaper bag in the front seat, so that you'll see it when you park your car.
It's also important to remember that things can get dire very quickly. If your children are sleeping in the back seat, it's not a good idea to get out of the car and go shopping. Not only is heat an issue, but there's also a possibility of abduction.
It's unimaginable to think about what Brayden and Bryson's parents are going through right now. Even though they've remained anonymous in the news, they'll always have to live with what happened that day. If anything, hopefully it's a reminder that these mistakes can be easy to make — and that as parents, there are no such things as too many reminders when it comes to kids and car safety.