Georgia police are investigating after twin 15-month-old girls died Thursday after being left behind inside a hot vehicle, despite efforts by their father to cool them down with water from a pool.
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Asa North, 24, left twin daughters Ariel Roxanne and Alynah Maryanne in a auto “for a period of time”, according to Carrollton police Captain Chris Dobbs. Reports say that the father had been consuming alcoholic beverages before the incident occurred.
Dobbs said neighbors of the family in Carrollton called 911 on Thursday evening after hearing screaming and yelling.
Detectives spoke with the father, Asa North, at the apartment Thursday afternoon and are charging him with two counts each of manslaughter and reckless conduct. He added that a man with North was extremely intoxicated, and “we believe the father had been drinking that day also”. Autopsies were being done at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said Friday morning.
The mother was visiting a sick relative out of town at the time but has since returned to Carrollton, he said. A vehicle at the scene has been impounded.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman says autopsies on twin girls pulled from a hot auto in Carrollton, Georgia, will be done at the GBI’s crime lab.
Dobbs said the father is being cooperative with them.
Dr. Tiffany Hernandez, of the Pediatric Health Care Alliance in Tampa, said children under four are at greatest risk. From 1998 to 2005, that number more than tripled to 304, an average of 38 per year.
Of the children who die this way, 87% are age 3 and younger, KidsAndCars founder Janette Fennell said.
“No one has come forward saying they saw the father pull the kids from auto”.
“They were blessing from God.Wish they were still here.My biggest blessing”.
With so many of these deaths occurring, it is important to do not forget to “look before you lock”- check and double check the back of your vehicle to ensure that no child has been left behind.
She said: “It’s sad because I have grandchildren and I can’t even imagine my grandkids leaving me – and especially under those conditions – it was so hot today”.
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