Man with special needs dies inside car when caretaker goes to work second job, deputies say

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- A man admitted to leaving an adult with special needs inside a car all day, which ultimately led to his death. That man now faces involuntary manslaughter charges.

Johnston County Sheriff's Office said 55-year-old Roger Lee Inge Jr., of Warrenton, was booked on the manslaughter charge and given a $35,000 secured bond.

Inge was employed as a caretaker of 22-year-old Dontarious Batts, also of Warrenton. Batts was an adult with special needs who could not care for himself.

On Tuesday, Inge drove Batts to Cleveland High School where Inge is also employed as a janitor, the sheriff's office said. Inge told investigators that he left Batts inside his car with the windows up and the engine off.

At this time, Batts' cause of death has not been determined. Deputies said they could not say whether heat inside the car contributed to his death. The ABC11 First Alert Weather Team said the high that day in Clayton reached 81 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, inside temperatures of cars parked in the sun can rise as much as 50 degrees hotter than outside temperatures.

Inge said he began his shift at work around 8 a.m. At 10 a.m. he went back to the car to check on Batts. He said Batts was doing fine, so Inge went back to work.

He did not check on Batts again until 4:17 p.m. At that point, Batts was dead. Inge then called 911 and followed instructions from the emergency operator.

Johnston County School District said Inge was terminated from employment after this incident.

"I'm disgusted. Just disgusted that anyone can call themselves a caretaker and not take care of the person they are supposed to take care of," said Robin Berner, a Clayton resident. "It makes me angry. Makes me so sad."

"They say he was a janitor. Why couldn't (Batts) sit in the gym," questioned another woman whose daughter lives across the street from the school. "Why couldn't he sit in a classroom? School hasn't started."

ABC11 spoke with the Clayton Fire Chief and he said once Inge arrived his firefighters administered lifesaving measures to Batts. They were unsuccessful.

According to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, Inge has since bonded out of jail.