Drinking dad charged in hot-car deaths of his twin toddlers

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — Police charged a father with manslaughter today in the deaths of his 15-month-old twin girls, alleging that he had been drinking before leaving them in their car seats in 90-degree temperatures.

Witnesses heard screams and saw Asa North running as he carried the toddlers from the parking lot in front of their home to an inflatable pool out back. Neighbors joined him, frantically trying to revive the girls with water and ice packs. Emergency responders later tried CPR.

But the unresponsive girls were soon declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Outside temperatures were in the 90s on Thursday before police were called at 6:34 p.m. Investigators were trying to determine how long the girls remained in the parked car, but it would take only a few minutes for the heat to become unbearable.

"We do believe alcohol is involved," said Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs, who identified the girls as Ariel North and Alaynah North. "We do believe the father, sometime throughout the day, he had been consuming alcoholic beverages."

North, 24, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct, Carroll County jail records show. Police were awaiting the results of blood tests to determine his alcohol level.

The girl's mother was at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta at the time, visiting her sister, who had been in a serious car crash Wednesday, Dobbs said.