An 18-month-old boy tragically died after being left inside a parked truck in the scorching Florida heat while his father drank beer and took shots at a bar. In a shocking act of callousness, the man returned to the same bar for another round of drinks even after the toddler’s death.
Authorities report that Scott Allen Gardner, 33, of South Daytona, showed a horrifying level of indifference and deception after leaving his son, Sebastian, alone for more than three hours in the sweltering heat.
By the time Gardner finally called 911, the child’s body temperature had soared to a deadly 111°F — it was already too late.
This father is a human piece of garbage, and a lying sack of s***,” Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood said during a scathing press conference.
“He’s exactly where he belongs — behind bars. There’s no reason for this little boy to be dead.”
Scott Allen Gardner is being held without bond at Volusia County Jail, facing charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm.
The tragic chain of events began the morning of June 6, when Gardner arrived at Classic Cuts, a barbershop in Ormond Beach, around 11:30 a.m., leaving his 18-month-old son strapped in a car seat inside his truck.
18-month-old Sebastian tragically died after being left inside a parked truck in the Florida heat while his father drank beer and took shots at a bar.
Authorities say Scott Allen Gardner, 33, of South Daytona, showed a shocking level of indifference and deceit after leaving his son alone for over three hours in the sweltering heat.
Gardner was drinking at Hanky Panky’s Lounge (pictured) on the day his toddler son died—and shockingly, after his son’s death, he returned for another round of drinks.
The temperature outside hovered around 90 degrees. Although the truck’s windows were cracked open and a small fan was running, these measures proved feeble and ultimately futile against the intense Florida heat and humidity.
After his son’s haircut, Gardner crossed the street to Hanky Panky’s Lounge, where he reportedly drank for nearly three hours.
He left the bar at 2:40 p.m. to drive to his mother’s home, where he finally called 911.
Investigators believe Sebastian had already been dead for two hours by then. The toddler was unresponsive when Ormond Beach police arrived.
Emergency crews rushed Sebastian to the hospital, but it was too late. Doctors reported that his internal body temperature had exceeded 107 degrees.
According to Sheriff Chitwood, Gardner later picked up his mother—who was reportedly unaware of Sebastian’s death—and returned to Hanky Panky’s Lounge for more drinks.
“I don’t think there’s a penalty on this Earth that could ever fit the crime that was committed here,” Chitwood said, visibly outraged. “It absolutely shocks the conscience.”
Gardner’s behavior has deeply enraged law enforcement officials.
Gardner is being held without bond at Volusia County Jail, facing charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm.
Investigators believe Sebastian had already been dead for two hours, and when Ormond Beach police arrived, they found him unresponsive.
Gardner was booked into the county jail on a \$100,000 bond, where he remains in custody.
The family described the little boy as a “bright light” who will “forever remain in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.”
“There’s no reason this little boy should be dead. None. Zero. This was not an accident. This was gross negligence, deception, and absolute callousness. He went back to the bar,” Sheriff Chitwood said, expressing his disgust without holding back.
“During the investigation, Gardner gave multiple false accounts of what happened that day,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office stated. A neighbor told a local news outlet that Gardner had lied to them, claiming his son “died of a fever.”
Authorities arrested Gardner at his mother’s residence, in what appeared to be a screened-in outdoor area.
Bodycam footage showed the same officer who had tried in vain to save Sebastian placing Gardner in handcuffs.
“Honey, I love you,” Gardner’s mother, Jody Thereault, could be heard saying during the arrest.
“Love you guys,” Gardner replied.
Sebastian was the seventh child in the U.S. to die in a hot car in 2025.
Gardner allegedly left his son in the hot truck while he got a haircut and then went drinking for over three hours. Police tried to revive Sebastian (pictured with a relative), who had an estimated body temperature of 111 degrees, but were unsuccessful.
Scott Allen Gardner, 33, of South Daytona, pictured alongside his 18-month-old son, Sebastian, who tragically died on June 6.
The same Ormond Beach police officer who tried to revive Sebastian was the one who placed the father-of-one in handcuffs.
“Saying goodbye, because you’re not coming back here again,” another voice can be heard saying during the arrest.
A GoFundMe page, created before Gardner’s arrest, raised $2,828 for funeral expenses.
It described Sebastian as a “bright light” who would “forever remain in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.”
“No parent should ever have to experience the pain of losing a child,” the now-closed fundraiser reads. “I hope they can find some comfort in the love and support surrounding them.”
Sebastian’s death is the seventh hot-car child fatality in the United States in 2025.
Florida Man Arrested After Leaving Toddler to Die in Hot Car
Sebastian’s short life was marked by innocence. His family remembered him as a “bright light” — a child whose memory, they said, will outlast even “this unfathomable loss.”
Last year, nearly 40 children died in similar circumstances—most under the age of three—often left unknowingly by a caregiver.
Safety experts urge parents to leave a diaper bag or toy in the front seat as a visual reminder, and to open the back door every time they exit the vehicle, even if they believe the child isn’t inside.
Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit that tracks these tragedies, warns: “It only takes minutes. A car can heat up 20 degrees in 10 minutes. And a child’s body overheats three to five times faster than an adult’s.”
Sebastian’s short life was marked by innocence. His family remembered him as a “bright light”—a child whose memory, they said, will “outlast even this unfathomable loss.”
