Father charged in son's hot car death a 'good parent,' neighbors say

Ridgefield, CT (WFSB) -- A Ridgefield father has been arrested following the death of his baby, whom he reportedly left in a hot car in July.

Kyle Seitz turned himself in to police at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday after learning of an arrest warrant.

Seitz is being charged with criminally negligent homicide, and was released on a promise to appear in court on Wednesday.

Seitz is charged with leaving his son, Benjamin Seitz unattended in a parked vehicle for an extended period of time on July 7. Benjamin Seitz, a 15-month-old, later died.

In August, the child's death was ruled a homicide.

"They were good parents. They took good care of their kids. They had an (unfortunate)accident," said a neighbor John, who wished to not give his last name.

Kyle Seitz was supposed to drop the child off at daycare, but instead went to work at a medical arts building on Grove Street.

When he eventually found the baby boy in the car, he drove the child to Danbury Hospital. However, Benjamin was pronounced dead.

Benjamin's death was ruled a homicide with the cause of death being "hyperthermia due to environmental exposure."

Neighbor John said he has known the family for four years and said on Tuesday the family moved out and are looking to start a new life.

"He looked sad that they were moving, they sold the house. He said we'll have new neighbors," John said.

"I just feel bad for the whole family and especially for that little baby," said Julie Mayette of Ridgefield.

The child's mother, Lindsey Rogers-Seitz, has previously said that she forgave her husband for leaving their son in the car.

In the wake of the tragedy, she started a blog and joined a push for more awareness about the number of children left alone in hot cars.

In a blog post last week, she said "It has been a particularly rough few days involving an intense yearning for parts of our pre-July life that we lost, a sense of profoundly missing Ben and what we had."

"You wake up in the morning and it's a normal day and then you find out in the afternoon that your sons gone," Rogers-Seitz said on national television over the summer.

Seitz's attorney said that his client continues to have the support of his family and friends and that this is a difficult time for everyone.

Seitz has no prior criminal record.