A Virginia foster father, Brian Dalton, is accused of leaving toddler Hudley Owen Hamlett inside a car for hours while he worked. Hudley, tragically, died just two days before his second birthday.
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According to WSET, citing an Amherst County Sheriff’s Office press conference, the incident occurred on Thursday, July 31. At around 3:42 p.m., the ACSO was notified of an unresponsive child inside a vehicle at Chestnut Academy, a daycare located on South Amherst Highway.
Upon arrival, deputies and medical personnel found staff members performing life-saving measures on a 1-year-old toddler, later identified as Hudley. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m.
Brian Dalton, Hudley’s foster father and guardian, was arrested at the scene. He was charged with abuse and neglect of children and involuntary manslaughter, as per a release issued by the ACSO.
Toddler Left In Car
Amherst County Sheriff Jimmy Ayers shared during the press conference that Dalton allegedly failed to drop off Hudley at Chestnut Academy on Thursday morning. Instead, he went straight to work, with Hudley reportedly spending his foster father’s 8-hour shift inside the car.
After getting off work, Dalton drove to the daycare, expecting to pick up Hudley, according to Ayers. However, the staff informed him that he didn’t drop off the child. Heartbreakingly, that’s when Dalton allegedly made the discovery: Hudley had been in the back seat of his car all along.
“It’s just a tragedy that you never, never expect to happen, never should happen, but it’s unfortunate that it did,” Ayers said. “As a man of faith, I would have to say that the only consolation that I can find in this is this little fella has faced many challenges in his short life.
“Now, he has the ability to grow and flourish without life’s challenges in his eternal home.”
Sheriff Ayers stated that there is no evidence that the incident was intentional. Furthermore, the sheriff stated that Brian Dalton has been fully cooperative with the police investigation and has expressed remorse.
A community gathering was held in honor of Hudley’s memory on August 2, his second birthday. Among the attendees were Hudley’s biological mother, Jennifer, and his sister, as per WSET.