A 1-year-old girl in Las Vegas is dead after her dad reportedly refused to break open the windows to his brand new car to rescue her after she accidentally became locked inside.
Sidney Deal, pictured (above), was arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police on Monday, hours after he allegedly refused officers’ help to rescue his daughter, Sayah, from his vehicle. According to the police report first published by KTNV, Deal “seemed more concerned about his new car than his daughter” in the moments leading up to her death. Ugh…
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It all started at about 3:30 p.m. local time when cops were called to the scene over a toddler being trapped in a car. Deal, 27, had accidentally locked his keys inside with the 1-year-old girl. And while officers were immediately concerned about the girl’s health, and offered to break open a window to get her out, Deal reportedly refused, claiming he “couldn’t afford to pay for any damages to his new car,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Deal allegedly told the officers that since the air conditioning was still running inside the car, he was sure the child would be fine in there for the time being. Instead of breaking the windows open at the officers’ request, then, Deal called his brother to come help. The father then reportedly contacted both tow truck and locksmith companies so as to open the car without doing damage to the windows.
According to the local newspaper report of the incident, when Deal’s brother arrived on scene he also immediately offered to break in a window to save the little girl, but the father again refused. Per the police report, Deal allegedly wanted to save money on damages considering he’d just purchased the car:
“[Deal] stopped [his brother] and said he wanted to wait for a tow truck. [Deal] insisted he not damage his new vehicle, stating he had just bought the car and did not have the money to repair a broken window.”
Things went from bad to worse when Deal’s girlfriend allegedly told police that she had called a locksmith to come over and unlock the car, but Deal reportedly “didn’t like the price they quoted,” and so he denied their services. What. The. F**k?!?!
Up until that point, police had allowed Deal to wait on the tow truck, not wanting to break his car windows considering they had been able to see the girl breathing inside. But after a while, worried about the girl’s health after the delays, police officers on scene finally decided to break open a window against Deal’s wishes and reach the girl.
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Unfortunately, it was too late; The baby girl died soon after, having been adversely affected by the heat during her time the car. According to the police report, officers estimated she had been in the car for about an hour before they were finally able to rescue her — and by then, it was too late.
A spokesman for the LVMPD spoke to the Journal-Review about the incident, saying:
“The dad said that the A/C was on and the kid was playing, and when the officers arrived, they saw that she was breathing. But when the officers got concerned for the child’s well-being, they broke the window.”
Unreal…
Deal is currently being held at Clark County Detention Center on $20,000 bail, although according to People it was not immediately clear exactly what the charges are against him. Regardless, his next court hearing is set for Thursday.
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We honestly can’t even believe something like this escalated to such a tragedy. It’s just a window! It can be replaced!!
And for all this to go down with the cops RIGHT THERE?! All because it was a new car… Seriously?!?! Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sayah, her loved ones, and those mourning her untimely and horrific death. Such a terrible tragedy. Such an avoidable tragedy. R.I.P…
[Image via Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]
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