Firefighter Charged in Son’s Hot Truck Death

PALM HARBOR, FL — A 41-year-old Hillsborough County firefighter faces aggravated manslaughter charges after his young son was found dead in the backseat of his pickup truck Friday afternoon.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Troy Whitaker, 41, put his daughter Addison, 5, and son Lawson, 23 months, into his 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck around 7:50 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9 and left his Palm Harbor home to drop Addison off at school. Whitaker, the sheriff’s office said, was suppose to take Lawson to daycare, but went home instead.

Whitaker returned home around 8:30 a.m., went inside and left “Lawson unattended inside his truck until about 3:30 p.m.,” an email from the sheriff’s office said. Whitaker is accused of driving to a grocery store at that time, not realizing his son was in the truck.

“Detectives say Troy returned home from the grocery store at about 4:30 p.m. and was unloading groceries from the truck when he discovered Lawson unresponsive in the back seat of the truck,” the email said.

Whitaker, who is a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue firefighter, called 911 and performed CPR, the sheriff’s office said.

Lawson was taken to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead.

Whitaker told deputies he thought he had dropped his son off at daycare earlier in the morning, the email noted.

Whitaker was charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter in the death of his son. He was later released from the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $50,000.

“On average, 37 children die from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside vehicles,” according to KidsandCars.org. That organization works to raise awareness about the dangers vehicles pose to children and steps that can be taken to prevent injuries and deaths. “Even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a sleeping baby in a car; and the end result can be injury or even death," the organization's website says.

Prior to Lawson’s death, KidsandCars reported there had been 28 hot car deaths involving children in 2016 so far. Twenty-five children died in hot cars in 2015.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office