A Kentucky grand jury has declined to indict a Madisonville doctor whose 10-month-old grandson, Scottie Crowell, died in August after being left in a hot car for roughly eight hours. Police said she picked the baby up on the morning of Aug. 13 intending to take him to daycare, forgot he was in the vehicle, and went to work. The child was found that afternoon after his father discovered he wasn’t at daycare and the mother called the grandmother at work. First responders attempted lifesaving measures, but Scottie died. On Tuesday, the grand jury found insufficient probable cause for an indictment.
The case has drawn national attention because it sits at the intersection of two hard things: a family’s permanent grief and the question of whether caregivers should face charges for fatal lapses. Commonwealth’s Attorney Hannah Kington-Jarvis asked the community to keep the infant’s parents and family in their thoughts and prayers as they process what she called an unimaginable loss.
Here on the Suncoast, where heat and humidity are a daily reality and many grandparents are active caregivers, this story is a reminder worth repeating. Safety advocates recommend putting a purse, phone, or shoe in the back seat, asking daycare providers to call if a child doesn’t arrive as expected, and never assuming a quiet car means an empty one. Florida’s heat can make a parked vehicle dangerous within minutes, not hours.
What habit do you use to make sure you never forget a child in the back seat? Share it with us, it might help another family.
