We don’t know why we still have to remind people not to leave their children in hot cars as summer comes upon us, but it appears common sense still isn’t so common as a boy in Waldorf, Maryland reportedly called 911 after he and six other children were left inside a hot car for an extended period of time.
According to ABC7, the boy phoned police asking for help after the mother of two went inside a Waldorf shopping center for nearly 20 minutes. The mother was also supposedly babysitting five other children, aged 2 to 4 years old.
“Officers helped the children out of the vehicle and Charles County Fire/EMS provided treatment on the scene,” said the Charles County Sheriff Office’s statement.
When police arrived where the black Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS was parked, the officers found the children frightened and visibly perspiring as ambient temperatures in the area rose to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A vehicle’s interior could rise by as much as 40 degrees in a matter of one hour, depending on the time of day and the ambient outdoor temperature.
“It is against the law to leave a child under the age of 8 unattended inside a motor vehicle if the caregiver is out of sight of the child unless a reliable person at least 13-years-old remains with the child,” the sheriff’s office added.
Police suspect it was the eldest child who called the police for help. The responding deputies said that the driver, a 37-year-old woman, apparently arrived back to the car after reinforcements were called in about 10 minutes after the call was placed. The mother is now being charged with “confinement of children inside a motor vehicle” with additional charges pending.
The penalty for leaving unattended children can peak to $500 worth in fines and up to 30 days in jail or even both, in accordance with Maryland state law.
According to recent data, an average of 38 children die per year from being trapped in hot vehicles. In 2018, 52 children perished from this carelessness, according to Jan Null, a professor of meteorology at San Jose University.
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