Child’s Death in Seneca ruled Accidental

On Wednesday night, Nov. 22, a 2 year-old Laurens County child, who also had local Anderson County connections, was presented to the emergency department at Oconee Memorial Hospital in cardiac arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at 7:05pm. At approximately 6pm, emergency personnel were dispatched to the CVS Pharmacy located at 210 Ingles Place in Seneca. The father of this child went to the pharmacy for medical assistance from a nearby work site where he had been assisting with grading and preparing a mobile home site. The job site was located on Anderson Road, approximately a half-mile from the CVS. The father was preparing to depart the job site; he and his son returned to his work truck described as a four door, 2003 Ford F-350. This work truck had power windows that are operated with “rocker type” switches. The father started the truck to get a heat source as the outside temperature had begun to cool. He exited the truck to retrieve and gather up some of his remaining tools. A few minutes later, when he returned to the truck, he discovered his child lifeless with his neck compressed by the window and window frame of the rear, driver side door. An autopsy was performed on Friday, Nov. 24, and found the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to external neck compression. The manner of death is classified as accidental. Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis identified the child as 2-year-old McCarson Allen Porter of Clinton. This incident was investigated by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and Oconee County Coroner’s Office, with assistance from the Seneca Police Department and SLED Special Victims Unit.