Twin 15-month-old girls died in a car in Carrollton on Thursday, police said.
Asa North, the girls’ father, is facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in their deaths, according to Channel 2 Action News.
When officers pulled up to Tillman Drive, people motioned for them to head toward the back of an apartment complex. That’s where residents were holding two unresponsive girls — Ariel Roxanne North and Alaynah Maryanne North — in a pool, trying to revive them, the television station reported. Others held ice packs and hugged as the reality of the situation set in.
Paramedics rushed the twins to Tanner Medical Center, but they were pronounced dead.
A Nissan SUV parked at the complex may have been where the girls overheated, Channel 2 reported.
Police took Asa North, 24, to the station for questioning and later arrested him. The mother was in Atlanta all day checking on a family member who was in a car crash. She later arrived at the hospital in Carrollton. Police told Channel 2 she was “absolutely devastated.”
A friend of the family told Channel 2 she prays the deaths were accidental.
“There’s no reason for it,” Regina Cleveland told the station. “I’m hoping he didn’t mean to do it because this is something he’s going to have to live with for the rest of his life.”
An investigation is ongoing.
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.