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Two infants died after they were left in a hot SUV for the entire day. The two 20-month-old boys were discovered just after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday (September 1) in their rear-facing car seats outside of Sunshine House Early Learning Academy in Blythewood, South Carolina.
Paramedics arrived within ten minutes but pronounced the twin boys dead at the scene.
Officials said that the SUV was not parked in front of the daycare center all day, and the two boys were discovered when the car returned. Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said that the boys were put in the vehicle by one of their parents between 7:30 and 8 a.m.
The two boys were enrolled at the daycare center and were supposed to be at the daycare center all day. It is unclear if staff members reached out to their parents when the boys were not dropped off in the morning. Rutherford said that the staff members were not responsible for the deaths of the two boys.
"With the evidence that we have, we do not believe the Sunshine Academy staff was involved nor is complicit in any way in the deaths of Bryson and Brayden McDaniel," she said.
The Richland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the deaths. Rutherford said it is too early to know if their deaths were the result of a tragic accident. She said that the autopsy report found no signs of abuse or physical trauma.
"We have two very distraught parents," Rutherford added.