Florida father charged with manslaughter for leaving son in car for eight hours

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A father left his son in the backseat of his truck for more than eight hours
Troy Whitaker has been charged with manslaughter over son's death
Florida man told police he forgot his son with in the car and left him all day
23-month-old Lawson Whitaker had a body temperature of 108 degrees
Whitaker repeatedly failed to see his son, despite running errands all day

Published: 08:54 EST, 10 September 2016 | Updated: 09:33 EST, 10 September 2016

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Troy Whitaker (pictured), 41, was charged with manslaughter over the death of his son, Lawson, after leaving him in a car for more than eight hours

A Florida man who left his 23-month-old son in the back of his car for eight hours has been charged with his death.

Troy Whitaker, 41, was charged with manslaughter over the death of his son, Lawson, on Friday.

The father was supposed to drop his son off at daycare but forgot, after having already dropped him five-year-old daughter, Addison, at her school in Palm Harbor, Florida, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters outside the family's home.

'What (Whitaker) says, is he thinks he dropped (Lawson) off... but he didn't,' Sheriff Gualtieri said.

'He came back here to the house, he arrived at the house about 8:30am, went inside... and stayed in the home until about 10:30 this morning.

'He then went out and walked the dog, then went back inside and stayed in the house until 3:30 this afternoon. When he came out at 3:30 he entered the truck and says that he did not see Lawson.

'Where Lawson was seated was in a car-seat behind the driver's seat... facing forward in the backseat of the vehicle. He then goes to the Publix, spends about 30 or 40 minutes (there), then comes out and puts the groceries on the front passenger seat of the truck.

'At that point, he says again that he does not see Lawson. He comes home, parks in the driveway and gets out, and goes over to the passenger side where he had just put the groceries in, and when he opens the door he sees Lawson.

'Lawson is deceased at that point... he had not been breathing for a long time.'

The sheriff went on to explain how Whitaker, who is a local firefighter, performed CPR on his son to try to revive him but was unable to do so..

23-month-old Lawson Whitaker (pictured) was left in the back of his father's truck for eight hours and died

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Whitaker claims he 'forgot' he hadn't dropped his son at daycare and then left him in the car all day

Gualtieri added young Lawson's body temperature was 'about 108 degrees' at 5:00pm.

'He was clearly negligent, he can offer no explanation other than he thought he dropped the kid off and that doesn't make any sense quite frankly,' the sheriff said about Whitaker.

'He has to be held accountable. This defines culpable negligence.'

Horrified neighbors watched on as police continued to investigate the truck and the scene on Friday night.

Whitaker's truck is seen outside his Florida home, where he discovered his son dead in the backseat

The 41-year-old firefighter is seen after finding his son in the back of his truck on Friday afternoon

One said he has seen Whitaker desperately trying to save his son.

'I saw dad performing CPR, compressions, compressions,' Joe Lumpkin told WFLA.

'He was frantic.'

Florida has had the second-highest number of deaths from children left in cars since 1998 with 72, according to CNN.

The National Safety Council recommends parents put something in the backseat, such as a bag or cell phone, to remind them not to leave children inside.