Two young children have died after their father who was "under pressure at work" has accidentally left them in a hot car for an entire day.
South Carolina authorities said the deaths have been ruled an accident after the 20-month twins died from hyperthermia when their body temperatures were extremely elevated, the coroner ruled.
The father believed he had dropped his kids off at daycare in the morning before going to his work.
It wasn't until he was on his way to pick up his kids from daycare that he realized his children were still in the car.
The children were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services after the father attempted to revive them, according to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.
The cause of death was hyperthermia, or overheating with officials believing the temperature in the car reached over 120 degrees (farenheit) according to Carolina News.
"The father was under intense pressure at work that really had his mind somewhere else that day," Lott said. "He really believed he had dropped the two boys off at daycare.
"There was no doubt in his mind that he had done that."
Police said speaking to the father was devastating and had decided not to publish his name.
"There were some things going on at work, not your normal work activities, just some things that were going on that he was dealing with at work. That contributed to it," Lott says.
"The pure emotion that came out was not something that you could fake.This family needs prayer, their life will never be the same.
"Nothing's going to replace these two boys. Nothing's going to take away the pain this family is going to feel."
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford asked for prayers for the family and said to parents to be vigilant about checking their vehicle back seats while asking child care centers to always contact parents when children are absent.
"If this is an accident, we pray that this family one day finds peace. And so, there's no justice to be sought here, just prayers," Rutherford says.
