Just days after six-month-old Trenton Cason-Collins died after being left in a hot car by a relative, the child’s mother and father have spoken out.
“You don’t expect something like this to happen to you, and when it does, you can’t prepare for it,” a distraught Alycyia Cason told local media.
The child was inadvertently left in the backseat of teacher Chanda Larson’s SUV, in the carpark of the school where she worked. It is reported that the 38-year-old relative of the family had taken Trenton into her care six weeks previous, to help the mother get back on her feet.
Updating media on the case, local authorities admitted that they have not yet decided whether or not to file charges against Larson.
“It appears to be a tragic accident, but we still have to look to see if there are criminal charges there or not. We’ll investigate it thoroughly and will try to decide what we see,” said Sheriff Ben Johnson.
Larson is said to have dropped her son to school on Friday morning last, before then bringing Trenton’s sister to her bus stop. Larson was then supposed to drop Trenton off to day care, but forgot, and instead drove to her place of work. After finishing school, Larson then returned to her vehicle, where she discovered Trenton.
The teacher made a desperate call to the emergency services, while a passerby attempted to resuscitate the child, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Paying tribute to his newborn son yesterday, dad Brian Joseph Collins said: "He was a very good kid. He always smiled. He was active, always healthy, a loving child. We know it was an accident."
