27-year-old dad Sydney Deal accidentally locked his one-year-old daughter, Sayah Deal inside of his car on a hot Monday afternoon parked outside his home. Deal’s keys were locked in the car with his daughter preventing him from unlocking it. Not wanting to break any of the windows, Deal contacted nearby officers to help get his daughter out of the car. The police spoke with Deal about his situation and recommended three courses of action: call a locksmith, call a tow truck, or break a window. The deal did not agree to any of the suggested courses of action due to the fact that they would cost him money, either in the form of vehicle repairs or out of pocket. Deal told the officers he wanted them to contact his brother who would be able to open the locked car. Eventually, the police took action and broke the window to extract Sayah, but the one-year-old was unresponsive. Sayah was pronounced dead at the scene, though the cause of death has yet to be determined. Police speculate that Sayah had been locked in the car for over an hour.
Deal’s brother shed some light on additional details, stating that Deal had contacted him and that he had arrived at the scene as quickly as he could. Deal’s brother also mentioned that Deal told him that even though Sayah was locked in the vehicle, the air conditioning was running. Deal’s brother also offered to break one of the vehicle’s windows in order to extract Sayah, however, Deal refused as he did when the police suggested the same course of action. Deal’s reasoning was once again that he did not have enough money to pay for the repairs to his car’s window. The deal then came up with his own idea and asked his brother to call their mother so that they could get in contact with their insurance company. They would then get the insurance company to send out a locksmith who would open the door without damaging the vehicle.
Eventually, it was Deal’s girlfriend who managed to contact the insurance company. The insurance company offered to call a tow truck, but Deal refused, again stating that it would cost too much money. Following the death of his daughter, Deal has been arrested and charged with several crimes including child abuse/neglect causing serious bodily harm. The deal is currently in jail with a bond of $20,000 awaiting trial. Deal’s mother who is a doctor has spoken with the press in defense of her son’s actions. She claims that her son was not negligent with how he handled the situation and that the air conditioner of the car was running. She also says that Deal claimed that his daughter was doing well and that the police officers saw that she was doing okay too. She also says that the situation lasted approximately 30 minutes from when she became involved on the phone. Deal’s mother was also very outspoken about what she considered to be the character assassination of her son during the preliminary hearing.
