Twins Die After South Carolina Dad Forgot Them Inside The Car, Won't Face Any Charges

A sheriff in South Carolina said no charges will be filed against a father whose 20-month-old twin boys died of heat exhaustion after leaving them in his vehicle.

On Sept. 1, 20-month-old twins Brycen and Brayden McDaniel were discovered dead inside a car outside the Sunshine House Early Learning Academy in Blythewood, South Carolina.

At a press conference, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said that their father, who has not been identified because no charges have been filed, worked at a manufacturing plant in the area. The father had been under "some intense pressure" at work before the accident.

"The father was under some intense pressure at work that really had his mind somewhere else that day," Lott said. "In his mind, he really believed he dropped the two boys off at daycare. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd done that."

When the father returned to the daycare that evening to pick up the boys, he was informed they weren't there. That's when he discovered them lifeless in the car's backseat, according to Lott.

According to the sheriff, he attempted lifesaving measures on the twins, but it was too late.

"He didn't mean to do it. God, he didn't mean to do it. He's got to live with that the rest of his life," Lott said.

According to Richland County Coroner Nadia Rutherford, the heat index in the car was 120 degrees on September 1. The official added that the tragedy "didn't take long."

The twins' death was ruled accidental, and hyperthermia was their cause of death.

Lott recalled the father's interview as "one of the [most] heartbreaking interviews you ever had to see," according to him.

"The pure emotion that came out was not something you could fake," Lott said.

ABC News, citing the coroner, said the deaths could have been avoided if the daycare had called the family when the sons did not arrive, or if the alarms that sound when a child is left in the backseat of an SUV had been activated.

Both the sheriff and the coroner have requested prayers for the family and the community as they cope with the tragedies.