A toddler who accidentally stayed in a vehicle for hours died Tuesday and police said his father was found dead in an apparent suicide at their home in Virginia, police said. Chesterfield County Police received a call around 11:45 a.m. indicating that an 18-month-old boy may have been left in a vehicle for several hours, police said in a press release. Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley said police were in contact with the child’s mother and relatives who said the boy had not been delivered to daycare and may be in danger, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Police also learned that the boy’s father was at his home and made suicide statements. Police responded by finding the boy dead inside the house and the man dead from obvious self-injury in the woods behind the house, police said. “It’s just a tragedy on so many levels,” Hensley said. “Our heart is in the family and friends who will deal with it.” An investigation shows that the father accidentally left the child in the vehicle for several hours and when he found the child dead in the vehicle, he returned home, took the child inside and then went outside and shot himself, police said.
