Toddler Dies After ‘Piece of Garbage’ Dad Allegedly Left Him in ‘Hot Truck’ to Drink and Get a Haircut, Sheriff Says

A toddler’s life was cut short after his dad allegedly left him in a vehicle in the Florida heat for hours while he got a haircut and drank at a bar.

On Thursday, June 19, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) and the Ormond Beach Police Department (OBPD) arrested the father, Scott Gardner, on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm, authorities said in a news release. The arrest came nearly two weeks after the death of his son, 18-month-old Sebastian Gardner.

The toddler spent over three hours in the backseat of a “hot truck” on June 6 while his dad, 33, spent time in Classic Cuts and Hanky Panky’s Lounge, a barber shop and cocktail lounge located near each other in Ormond Beach, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Florida dad allegedly left Sebastian in the backseat of the truck with the windows down, no air conditioning and a small, battery-powered fan pointed at the toddler, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during an emotional news briefing on Friday, June 20.

Scott allegedly left Sebastian in the vehicle around 11:30 a.m. as he went to get his haircut, according to a timeline investigators provided. He then finished his haircut and headed to Hanky Panky’s around noon, where he stayed and drank until at least 2 p.m., police said.

During his time in the bar, a customer “backed into a bartender’s car,” and Scott came outside to investigate the damage to the vehicle, investigators said. He did not check on Sebastian before heading back into the bar to order more drinks, per Chitwood.

At around 2:40 p.m., Gardner left Hanky Panky’s, drove a “short distance” home, and then proceeded to call 911 to report that Sebastian was not breathing, Chitwood said.

“My son’s not breathing. A year and a half. Oh my god. He just had his eyes open. Oh my god, Sebastian,” the father says in a recording of the 911 call. However, investigators said the toddler was dead one to two hours before his dad contacted authorities.

Following the call, an officer with the OBPD responded to the scene, but could not perform CPR, as the toddler’s body had already gone into rigor mortis, according to Chitwood. Unresponsive, the 18-month-old was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m.

The toddler’s temperature was over 107 degrees when he arrived at hospital, leading medical personnel to estimate that the temperature in the vehicle peaked at 111 degrees, Chitwood said. 

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After Sebastian was pronounced dead and the investigation into the June 6 incident was underway — with Scott’s account conflicting with assessment of hospital staff — the toddler’s father headed back to Hanky Panky’s for drinks, according to the sheriff.

Scott, along with his mom, stayed at the bar until “almost midnight,” he said. Witnesses at the bar said the pair “didn’t seem as distraught as you would expect someone to be for the child having just passed,” one investigator said in the news briefing, adding that this “is consistent with the interactions that we had with [Scott] at the hospital.”

Investigators also said in the June 20 news briefing that they do not believe Scott’s mother was made aware of her grandson’s death at that point.

Though police said Scott ultimately confessed, the confession came after he “gave multiple false accounts of what occurred” the day of his son’s death, per the sheriff’s office.

“This father is a human piece of garbage,” Chitwood said during the news briefing. “And he’s a lying sack of s—.”

“There’s no logical reason why this little guy is dead,” Chitwood continued of the toddler, later adding that the situation “absolutely shocks the conscience.”

“We’ve seen it, people forget their kids in the back seat, but this was completely different,” the sheriff said. “This was intentional. That’s what the charges are for.”