A 22-year-old man with special needs has tragically died after being left unattended in a hot car by his caregiver for hours.
The janitor, identified as Rogers Lee Inge Jr., is believed to have run off to find a second job in North Carolina while the victim, Dontarious Batts, was still in the car.
According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Inge, an employee of Universal Health Care, was supposed to supervise Batts. Instead, he took Batts, who was autistic and nonverbal, to his other job as a janitor at Cleveland High School in Clayton.
Inge arrived at school for his 8 a.m. shift, leaving Batts in his car with the windows rolled up and the engine off. Temperatures in the area reached 81 degrees on the day of the incident.
When Inge checked on Batts two hours later, he claimed the 22-year-old was doing fine.
22-year-old Dontarious Batts, who was autistic and non-verbal, tragically died after being left unattended in a hot car for hours by his caregiver
The janitor, identified as Rogers Lee Inge Jr., is believed to have run off to find a second job in North Carolina while the victim, Dontarious Batts, was still in the car.
Inge left Batts in the car for more than six hours before returning at 4:17 p.m. and finding him unconscious, a local NBC station reported WRAL.
The janitor then drove to a nearby fire station in Clinton, with Batts’ body still in the car, and called 911.
WRAL heard the 112 conversation between Inge and the operator.
“It’s my fault,” Inge told the 911 operator through tears. “I didn’t think it was that hot today. I didn’t look at him. I forgot. I was at work.”
Authorities met Inge at the fire station and pronounced Batts dead. Inge was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
An autopsy will be performed, but investigators believe Batts died from the extreme heat in the car.
According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Inge, an employee of Universal Health Care, was supposed to supervise Batts. Instead, he took Batts, who was autistic and nonverbal, to his other job as a janitor at Cleveland High School in Clayton.
Inge arrived at school for his 8:00 a.m. shift, leaving Batts in his car with the windows rolled up and the engine off. Temperatures in the area reached 81 degrees on the day of the incident.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the temperature inside a car can rise quickly on hot days. In just 20 minutes, the temperature can reach 109 degrees Fahrenheit and within an hour, it can rise to more than 123 degrees.
Inge was taken to the Johnston County Jail and held on $35,000 bail.
He was also fired from Johnston County Public Schools, WRAL reported.
The Batts family started a GoFundMe to cover his funeral expenses.