‘A terrible accident’: No charges in Rock Hill boy’s death in hot car, police say

ROCK HILL
The death of a 2-year-old Rock Hill boy who was found in a hot car was “a terrible accident,” and no charges will be filed at this time pending later test results, police said.

Lamartray Adams Jr. was found by his father and neighbors at the Glens Apartments in the car Sunday afternoon around 4:40 p.m. The boy had walked out of the apartment, climbed into the family car, then locked himself inside, said Lt. Michael Chavis of the Rock Hill Police Department. Sunday afternoon temperatures reached the 90s.

The investigation by Rock Hill Police Department detectives and South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division agents showed that police believe the boy was not left in the vehicle by his father, Chavis said in a written statement.

Police said after consulting with prosecutors from the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, “no charges will be filed at this time pending the results of toxicology.”

The father went looking for the child after he realized his son was missing, Chavis said.

“The child was inside the family residence when he opened the front door and walked outside,” Chavis said. “Adams then went to the family vehicle and climbed inside with the door, shutting and locking it behind him.”

“The facts of this investigation reveal this to be a terrible accident,” Chavis said.

Lamartray Adamas Jr. was unresponsive when police and EMS crews arrived at the scene. The first police officer on scene tried CPR on the chil, but the child died on the way to the hospital, said Sabrina Gast, York County coroner.

Gast has not yet issued a cause or manner of death.