Child dies in hot car as father reportedly works his shift at a festival

May 7, 2019

A four-year has died after being left in a hot car and now his father who worked at a festival for hours has been arrested and charged with a crime.

A 26-year-old Minnesota man, Kristopher Alexander Taylor, reportedly left his child in the car as he worked Saturday at the Minnesota Monthly 8th Annual Grillfest at CHS Field in downtown St. Paul, ABC News reports.

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Police have charged Taylor with second-degree manslaughter and he is currently being held at the Ramsey County jail.

According to authorities, the child’s mother left the boy in Taylor’s care.

Taylor reportedly arrived at the festival around 11:30 a.m., and by 2:45 p.m., he told police that his son complained that he was tired and wanted to sit in the car, according to the probable cause statement.

The father admitted to taking the child and putting in his 2017 Dodge Journey along with a game so he could entertain himself, the document states. It is also alleged that Taylor said he “left his son in the Journey for the entirety of his work shift” because he “couldn’t find anyone to watch his son,” according to the criminal complaint.

Taylor reportedly said he “didn’t think it was that hot,” in the car and admitted that he had done something similar before and “nothing bad happened” but admitted he left the window all the way down in that past case, according to the probable cause statement.

By 5:15 p.m., Taylor went to check on the boy and realized he was unresponsive and “stiff.” He then shook his son and called his name and tried to wake him, authorities said.

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Around 5:35 p.m. Taylor arrived at Regions Hospital with his son in his arms, but life-saving measures performed by the hospital staff were ineffective the court document states. The boy also had multiple seizures.

An officer “noticed the inside of the Journey was very hot,” the document states. The temperature on Saturday ranged from 70 degrees around noon to about 64 degrees around 5 p.m., the Star Tribune reported. But car temperatures are known to soar.

The cause of death has so far been determined as probable hyperthermia, but more testing is underway by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.

On Monday, Taylor made his first court appearance in the case.