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Father sentenced in son's hot car death near Vicksburg

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A Southwest Michigan father received probation and a delayed jail sentence in the death of his 3-year-old son, who was left in a hot car last year. Chad Martin of Athens was sentenced Thursday to nine months in jail and three years of probation, the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office said. However, the jail sentence was delayed, prosecutors said. A status conference was scheduled for December to check in on Martin's progress on probation, at which point the judge will decide if he will actually serve the jail time. The toddler was discovered dead in Martin's SUV on the at a Family Fare in Vicksburg. The death was believed to have been the result of prolonged heat exhaustion, with the temperature that day higher than 80 degrees. Police reports outline day of toddler's hot car death Police reports from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office obtained by News 8 show Martin told investigators nothing was different about the family's routine the day his son died. He said he wasn't running late, had been sleeping normally and doesn't use sleeping aids or recreational drugs or drink. 'I guess I went straight to work,' the report says he told investigators when he was interviewed. Martin arrived at his job at a plant in Brady Township, just outside of the Vicksburg limits, around 6:40 a.m., the reports show. He left around 3 p.m. and then stopped by the Family Fare. He was inside for a few minutes and when he came out, he realized his son was still in the car, buckled into in a rear-facing car seat in the driver's side back seat. The boy was dead by then. Doctor offers warning after toddler's hot car death near Vicksburg Martin was charged in November with leaving a child in a vehicle causing death and pleaded guilty in January. Prosecutors previously explained that under state law, it didn't matter whether he meant to leave the child in the car or not. 'In fact, they generally in these cases just have forgotten about the child rather than wanting to harm them,' Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams previously told News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.