Hot Car Death: Fundraiser for Palm Harbor Dad Taken Down

PALM HARBOR, FL. — An online fundraiser for a dad charged in the hot-car death of his son has been removed from GoFundMe. More than $5,000 was raised in five hours in defense of Troy Whitaker before the page on the popular fundraising website was removed.

Troy Whitaker, 41, is accused of leaving his son in a truck all day. He is reportedly a firefighter paramedic at Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue. "Despite the credibility of being a public servant who gladly risks his life every time the tones go off, Troy will be facing enormous family costs on several fronts," the fundraising page noted, according to a version archived by Google.

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 supposed 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.

Includes reporting by Sherri Lonon. Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office