Father Enters Plea After Baby Girl Dies In Hot Truck

BELCAMP, MD — A 29-year-old father has pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in Harford County Circuit Court for his role in the death of his 6-month-old daughter who died in a hot pickup truck last summer.

Richard Dalton was scheduled to start a trial on charges of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and child neglect when decided to plead guilty to manslaughter charges.

His sentencing has not yet been scheduled, according to The Baltimore Sun.

According to court records, before leaving for work July 6, Dalton drove his infant daughter to his mother's house located in the 300 block of Hampton Hall Court in Belcamp, Patch reported previously. He talked with his mom before an employee at his power-washing business picked him up for jobs in Middle River and Baltimore.

Dalton’s mother thought the 6-month-old baby was staying with the infant’s mother, who is Dalton's girlfriend, in Abingdon that day, court records showed.

Instead, the baby sat strapped in her infant car seat inside her father's 2015 Chevy Silverado parked outside Dalton's mother' house on a day where temperatures reached 88 degrees, court documents stated. When he arrived at his mother's home hours later around 9:47 p.m., he asked where his daughter was and his mother said she hadn't seen her all afternoon.

That's when the father ran to his truck, found his baby still in her car seat unresponsive and began administrating CPR on her until emergency workers arrived and took over. She was rushed to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m., Patch reported previously.

The National Weather Service showed temperatures reaching a high of 89 degrees that day in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. The Harford County Sheriff’s Office explained after the baby's death that a car’s interior temperature can increase by 20 degrees in just 10 minutes “on a warm day.”

"With summer temperatures on the rise, the danger of heatstroke for children left inside cars increases dramatically. On a warm day, the interior of a parked vehicle can rise by 20 degrees in just 10 minutes — even with windows cracked. A child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s, placing them at severe risk of heatstroke, which can cause irreversible injury or death," the Harford County Sheriff's Office stated at the time of the incident. "National safety experts identify heatstroke as the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths among children under 15 — with babies under the age of one facing the greatest risk."

The HCSO shared the following safety tips:

• Look Before You Lock. Always check the back seat before locking and leaving your vehicle. Make it a routine to open the back door every time you park.
• Keep a Reminder. Place your purse, phone, or other essential item in the back seat next to the child’s car seat so you check every time.
• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for a few minutes.
• If you see a child alone in a car, call 911.