The death of twins in a hot car has led to the arrest of their father, Asa North, who was drunk during the incident.
The sad death of 15-month-old twins in a hot car has a family and an entire community in Georgia mourning. Thursday afternoon, neighbors living in the Carrollton area heard Asa North, 24, screaming and yelling for help.
Mr. North was seen rushing from his vehicle with his twin girls – Ariel North and Alaynah North – who appeared to be unconscious.
The father had taken the babies to an inflatable pool located at the back of the duplex. Many friends and strangers called 911 and ran to help the children with water and ice packs.
First responders arrived and tried CPR, but in vain. The babies were rushed to Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton where they were declared dead. It was rapidly discovered that the children were left for several hours in a parked car as the temperature soared to 90 degrees.
The disgraced father was at home drunk and sleeping as his babies suffered in the unbearable heat. The tragedy is being investigated as hot car deaths, although the official cause of death remains to be determined.
North, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct. Police were awaiting the results of blood tests to determine his alcohol level. Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs said:
“We do believe alcohol is involved. We do believe the father, sometime throughout the day, he had been consuming alcoholic beverages.”
Dobbs added:
“The girl’s mother was at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta at the time, visiting her sister, who had been in a serious car crash Wednesday.”
Donnie Holland, the twins’ uncle, explained:
“I guess he forgot about the kids and left them in the car. He should have took care of them kids better than that, what he did. He should have never been in the house asleep. He should have got the kids out of the car the time he got out of the car, you know.”
Ariel North and Alaynah North are the 25th and 26th children to die in 2016 in hot car incidents, more than double the number by this point last summer, according to Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org. Fennell reminded people that one minute in a hot car is enough to kill an infant or a pet.
