A toddler tragically lost his life after being left in a car for over 8 hours. The toddler’s foster dad was arrested for child neglect. The child was left in the car when the temperature was over 31 °C outside. Here’s how the neglect on his foster father’s part caused the toddler to pass away.
Hudley Owen Hamlett, a 1-year-old, was found unresponsive last week. The child was left strapped in the backseat of a car by his legal guardian. The child spent 8 hours in the stuffy car while his foster father was at work.
Brian Dalton, the foster parent, called Hudley’s nursery to let them know that he was on his way to pick up the toddler. That is when the employees at the nursery informed him that the 1-year-old had not been dropped off at the nursery that morning.
Authorities shared how the man had mistakenly left the toddler in the backseat, seemingly forgetting him there. Dalton continued to work his shift at work without realising that the child was left unattended in the car. The tragedy struck when the temperatures outside soared above 31°C.
Officials confirmed that the man later realised that the toddler had been left in the car when he went to the nursery. Brian Dalton was soon arrested by the police for his neglect of the toddler. The man is now being charged with abuse and neglect of children and involuntary manslaughter.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of a child’s death.
Brian Lee Dalton, the guardian of 2-year-old Hudley Owen Hamlett, has been arrested in Virginia after allegedly leaving the toddler in a hot car, where police found him deceased. Temperatures in Amherst… pic.twitter.com/Vc0dOJFiyJ
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) August 4, 2025
The Virginia Police Department noted that the act of leaving the child in the car was in no way intentional on Dalton’s part. Emergency services who arrived at the scene, along with the nursery staff, tried their best to revive Hudley, who was found unconscious.
The 1-year-old was pronounced dead as soon as they reached the hospital. LJ Ayers, who serves as the Sheriff for Amherst County, addressed the incident while calling it an “unfortunate” tragedy that should “never expect to happen, never should happen.”
Hudley Hamlett, a Virginia boy, died last week after he was left in a car for more than eight hours while his foster father, who is also Hudley’s uncle, went to work.
Now, the question on many people’s minds is, how do we prevent this from happening?https://t.co/fRw84wfojx
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) August 5, 2025
“As a man of faith, I would have to say that the only consolation that I can find in this is that this little fella has faced many challenges in his short life,” Ayers noted. He added how the toddler was now in his “eternal home” where he would “grow and flourish.”
The sheriff also revealed how remorseful Dalton was when he was taken into custody. He shared how the late toddler’s foster dad had cooperated with the officials as they arrested him. Jennifer Dalton, Hudley’s foster mother, spoke about the loss and added that they were “taking it one day at a time.”
