Richland County Coroner provides update on the twin boys found deceased in a vehicle Wednesday
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford held a press conference Thursday afternoon regarding the infant twins found deceased in a car Wednesday.
The coroner says Richland County EMS was dispatched to the Sunshine House Early Learning Academy in Blythewood at 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities say paramedics arrived shortly before 6 p.m. and pronounced the twin boys dead at 5:55 p.m.
Coroner Rutherford identified the victims as Bryson and Brayden McDaniel, who were both 20-months-old.
According to investigators, they believe Bryson and Brayden may have been in the car for 9.5 hours before 911 was called.
Coroner Rutherford says she attended the boys’ autopsies Thursday morning, and they do not show signs of trauma or abuse.
“Comprehensive x-rays do not reveal any healing fractures or acute fractures. Their internal organs were developing normally and the only abnormalities were found in the lungs. An examination of their stomach contents is consistent with no oral intake for the timeframe that we believe they were in the vehicle,” said Coroner Rutherford.
The Richland County corner has not released an official cause of death at this time, but added that she thinks it is probable that their deaths were caused by hyperthermia. Officials say the investigation needs to play out before this information can be made certain.
Authorities say they do not believe the Sunshine Academy staff was involved or complicit in the deaths of the children. Officials also say they believe Bryson and Brayden seemed to be well taken care of by their family.
“If this is an unfortunate accident, we pray that the family will one day find peace. If this is indeed a criminal act, we pray for justice,” said Rutherford.
No criminal charges have been filed so far, and the investigation is ongoing with help from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Professor Jan Null from San Jose State has studied heatstroke deaths of children in vehicles.
Null says when the body reaches 107 degrees, cells die and organs shut down. He says that even on mild days, cars heat up fast and can become 40 degrees hotter than the outside temperature within an hour.
“One of the things we looked at was cracking the windows,” Null said about his studies into heatstroke deaths of children in cars. “That had little effect, about 2 or 3 degrees. If we’re looking at a car temperature of 130 degrees, two of three degrees does not make it any more survivable.”
For an adult, 10 to 15 minutes in a hot car may not be deadly, but it can be for children.
‘Their body temperature’s heat up a lot faster. In that amount of time, they could be in excess of 102 degrees,” Null said. “When the body reaches 104 degrees, that’s the clinical definition of heatstroke.”
Since 1998, more than 900 children have died in hot cars.
Professor Null says that a quarter of pediatric vehicular heatstroke deaths occur when the child enters the vehicle by themselves. That’s why he advises parents to lock their cars and teach their children how to exit a vehicle or honk the horn in the need of an emergency.
