Inset: Logan Keith Chewning (Tuscaloosa County Jail). Background: The 11000 block of Stone Ridge Court in Brookwood, Ala., where Chewning allegedly left his 1-year-old son to die in a hot car (Google Maps).
An Alabama man is behind bars after he left his 1-year-old son to die in a hot car while he was boozing all day as temperatures in the Crimson Tide State soared above 90 degrees, cops say.
Logan Keith Chewning, 30, is charged with manslaughter, per jail records. Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Capt. Jack Kennedy told AL.com that authorities responded around 5 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 11000 block of Stone Ridge Court in Brookwood. Family members reportedly found the boy dead in the car, still strapped to his car seat.
Chewning was the sole person responsible for the boy's care on Wednesday, authorities said.
"The father admitted to drinking at different times throughout the day and leaving the residence at one time to purchase more alcohol," Kennedy told the news outlet.
According to Kennedy, Chewning told cops he believed the boy was sleeping in his crib and that he must have "accidentally" left the boy behind in his car. Authorities have not said how long the boy was left in the hot car, but they say an investigation revealed it was for an extended period. Chewning had no explanation for why he allegedly never bothered to check on the boy during that time. Temperatures in the area reached the mid-90s on Wednesday, police said.
An autopsy will determine an exact cause of death. Police did not identify the boy. The investigation remains ongoing.
Police arrested Chewning and took him to the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where he is being held without bond.