Florida family grieves 18-month-old boy who died in hot car

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. Scott Allen Gardner, 33, right, is facing charges in Volusia County after his 18-month-old son Sebastian died alone in a hot truck.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A family in Florida was grieving 18-month-old Sebastian Gardner, who deputies said died in a sweltering hot truck.

Deputies found Sebastian in the back of a parked truck on June 6 in Volusia County and arrested his father, Scott Gardner, on Thursday in Ormond Beach.

“I don’t think there’s a penalty on this earth that can ever fit for the crime that was committed here,” Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood said during a news conference.

While the boy was in the car for about three hours in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Gardner, 33, got a haircut and stopped at the Hanky Panky’s lounge for a drink.

“It absolutely shocks the conscience ... that this even happened,” Chitwood said.

Gardner was at the Volusia County Branch Jail facing charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

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Andrea Torres

Andrea Torres

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.