Peters Township dad turns himself in after baby left in hot car dies
UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. (KDKA) — The father of a 3-month-old boy who died after he was left in a hot car turned himself in Thursday morning.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Khang Nguyen in connection with the death of his son, Kayden Nguyen, in Upper St. Clair in June. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.
Accompanied by his attorney, Khang Nguyen arrived at Municipal Court on Thursday to face charges in connection with the death of his 3-month-old son, who died on a hot day after being left several hours in his father's minivan.
"He's been mourning the death of his child, and it's extremely hard for him and the family," attorney Bill Difenderfer said.
Difenderfer called the child's death a horrific accident and said charges only add insult to injury to a family in grief.
"The medical examiner ruled it was an accident. It clearly was," Difenderfer said. "What this achieves other than just really exacerbating the situation with the family, I don't know."
Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Vic Joseph said the law is clear and the father's failure to care for the child constitutes criminal negligence.
"It was thoughtless," he said. "He didn't care for the well-being of this child he was responsible for. It was reckless and negligent."
According to the affidavit, after putting the baby into the van, Khang Nguyen drove his other son to The Goddard School of Peters Township before going to his business, Envy Nail Salon in Upper St. Clair.
Khang Nguyen told police that he meant to stop in for a short time but became distracted and worked a full day, forgetting about the baby in his minivan. After returning to The Goddard School of Peters Township to pick up his other child, he returned home.
According to the affidavit, he told police that it wasn't until then that he saw Kayden Nguyen in the van and when taking the baby out of the vehicle he discovered the child was dead.
"It is tragic," Joseph said. "We feel empathy for the family, for the father. But the facts still stand. ... We're talking five or six hours of that child being left unattended in that van on a hot summer day."
Khang Nguyen was arraigned Thursday morning and denied bail. On Friday, a judge granted his released. After a bail hearing, the judge freed Khang Nguyen to await his preliminary hearing.
But there are a number of conditions, including electronic monitoring, a behavior examination and no contact with his other son.