logo

1, 4 and 6-year-old kids die after being accidentally trapped in a freezer while playing outside

Odette Odendaal
Jan 17, 2019
07:00 P.M.

On December 13, Live Oak, Florida 3 young children accidentally trapped themselves inside a chest freezer while playing outside.

Advertisement

According to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, a preliminary investigation stated that three children, aged 6, 4, and 1-years old, played outside their home on Sunday evening when they climbed inside the freezer that got left in the yard.

The distraught mother of the 4-year-old said she had been watching the children and went inside the house to use the bathroom. Upon her return, the children were gone.

Advertisement

She told investigators that she woke up the other two children’s grandmother, and together they began searching for the children. Even the vacant lot next door got searched, but it wasn’t until over half an hour later that they checked the freezer that had been left in the yard.

When the women opened the chest freezer, they found all three children unconscious and not breathing. They began to resuscitate the children and called 911.

Advertisement

According to the sheriff’s department, the freezer’s height would make it easy for the 6-year-old to open and climb inside.

According to the sheriff’s office, no foul play is suspected. The chest freezer, which is about 3 feet tall, had a hasp used for a padlock which closed and trapped the three small children inside. There was no padlock placed on the freezer.

Sam St. John, the Suwannee County Sheriff, estimate that the kids got trapped in the freezer for about 45 minutes before they were found and added:

Advertisement

“It was about 3-feet-tall, 2-feet-wide, you have three of them inside, so it probably didn’t take them too long to burn up any air that was inside it.”

According to Florida statute 923,07, it is illegal to have an airtight unit, including items such as a chest freezer, abandoned on a property without first having had the door or lid removed.

The purpose of the statute is for the sole reason to prevent children from getting trapped and suffocating. Sam St. John added:

Advertisement

“It could be like a neglect charge or like this freezer being left out with a lid on it with access to the kids. That is a whole separate charge itself.”

The attorney’s office will review the case, and the state’s Department of Children and Families also got notified.

On August 18, 2018, Lucey Guyton from Michigan was in Waterford on an 84 degrees weather day when she secured her baby daughter in the car seat, she put in the diaper bag and closed the door.

Advertisement

While walking to the driver door, she heard the doors of her SUV lock automatically, and Lucey suddenly realized the keys were in the diaper bag.

Lucey asked her grandmother to contact 911 while she tried to break one of the car windows with a piece of asphalt she found on the ground. Repeated attempts to get the window broken failed.

Advertisement

When Lucey’s grandmother got through to a 911 operator, she got told that they do not send out their responders to open car doors or break windows, in spite of Lucey’s baby trapped in the car and unsuccessful attempts to do it themselves.

After another call for help to 911, they got told for the second time to get a tow truck, Lucey’s grandmother called one while Lucey ran to the back of the SUV, in attempts to break the back window.

Her baby daughter had gone silent after screaming of the heat and discomfort, and her eyelids started to close. Lucey was frantic; her baby was dying.

Advertisement

The third attempt to break the window did the trick, and Lucey climbed through the back to get her daughter out of the sweltering vehicle.

A tow truck arrived 12 minutes after Lucey finally managed to get her daughter out, if she waited for them to help, her daughter would be dead.

Accidents can happen so quickly, and it is up to us as adults to foresee dangerous situations children are yet too young to understand or grasp, and do what we can to prevent them.

Advertisement
info
Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories!
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy
Advertisement
Related posts

I Sent Daughter to My Mom for Summer, Coming There I Learned My Mom Died and Daughter Disappeared – Story of the Day

December 15, 2023

This Girl Found 'Handfuls' of Her Hair in Shower — 'Men in Black' Husband Defended Her at Oscars Once

November 03, 2023

9 People Share Parenting Moments from Their Lives That Are Both Hilarious and Heartwarming

February 01, 2024

Girl, 1, Dies after Being Left with Dad's Girlfriend While He Goes to Store: 'Details of This Case Are Heartbreaking'

January 17, 2024

Family Confounded by Old Neighbor's Frequent Quarrels Until Husband Accidentally Enters Her House – Story of the Day

December 27, 2023

Am I Wrong for Kicking My Daughter Out of Home after She Said She's Pregnant on Christmas?

December 29, 2023

My Partner Learned I Rent Out the House My Dad Gifted Me & Demands 50 Percent of the Money

February 28, 2024

Texas Girl, 11, Found Dead – Her Dad Finally Speaks Out after His Friend Was Charged with the Murder

February 27, 2024

Living Life to the Fullest: 16 Grandmas & Grandpas Proving Age Is Just a Number

November 29, 2023

Man Tries to Scam New York Grandma — She Takes Sweet Revenge on Him & Films It on Camera

December 18, 2023

My Mother-In-Law Gave Me Plastic Earrings While My Sister-In-Law Got a Diamond Necklace

November 29, 2023

Lady Spots 'Help' on Car's Window in Traffic Jam, Realizes Something's Off – Story of the Day

December 18, 2023

Dad, Who Cried on Camera over Late 5-Year-Old Son, Arrested for His Murder 34 Years Later – Details

January 15, 2024

My Husband Mentioned He'd Be Working on Valentines Day, Then I Discovered Him in a Restaurant

February 21, 2024