Parents have been warned to lock their car doors at all times, after three-year-old twins died when they became trapped in a hot pickup truck in Bossier City, Louisiana last week.
According to reports, Oliver and Aria Orr were playing at home when their mother, Alisha, fell asleep. When she awoke, she discovered the front door of their house was open and her twins were gone. After alerting her neighbours, the mum-of-two began a frantic search. The children were discovered unconscious inside their father’s truck, which was parked in the driveway, by a neighbour shortly afterwards.
Despite the best efforts of those on the scene, the children were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Autopsies have since confirmed their deaths were heat-related and it is believed they may have been inside the vehicle for up to two hours.
A spokesman for the Bossier City Police Department told PEOPLE that police suspect the twins, who were laid to rest following a private family ceremony on Wednesday, may have used a footstool found nearby to get into the truck.
Next-door neighbour Rhonda Matthews told a local news station that Aria was found in the front seat and her brother Oliver was found in the back.
“(Oliver) was sitting in the floorboard and he had put his head in the seat,” Matthews said.
The children’s father, Travis Orr, who works as a deputy with the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, was not at home when the tragedy occurred and has since taken administrative leave.
Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington issued the following statement earlier this week.
“We are saddened by the tragic loss suffered by the Orr family, and our hearts are heavy. This is a very difficult time, but it’s even more so, as they are a part of our Bossier Sheriff’s Office family. Please keep Deputy Travis Orr and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
While no criminal charges have been filed against the Orrs, an investigation into the tragedy continues. Just three weeks prior to the accident, Oliver spent a week in hospital after suffering a near-fatal injury.
After posting a video of the child, wearing a neck brace and oxygen tube, on Facebook on May 31, his father Travis thanked the hospital staff.
He wrote:
‘Well we’re home. Oliver was discharged today. I want to thank BCFD/EMS & BCPD for their quick response last Sunday night.
‘The doctors and nurses at University Health for the outstanding treatment and care that Oliver received the last week.’
‘Oh and by the way other than the scratches and bandages, Oliver is back to full speed chaos.’
Images: Facebook
