HYATTSVILLE, Md. — A 29-year-old woman from Glen Burnie, Maryland, will be criminally charged with neglect and reckless endangerment after police say she left her 5-year-old daughter locked in a hot car for several hours.
Hyattsville Police Department officers were called to the 3800 block of Oliver Street by an alert bystander who saw the girl in the car. The car had a window that was partially down and responding officers were able to reach in and unlock the car.
A preliminary investigation found that the child had been inside the car for hours while her mom was visiting at a home nearby. The mother, who was not identified by police, will also be charged with unattended child left confined in a vehicle.
Police remind everyone that it is never OK to leave a child in a hot car, but it is particularly dangerous to do so in a vehicle when there is a heat advisory. Even with a window down, temperatures rise quickly and can become deadly.
"We’re heartened that someone saw something and said something and are thankful for a community that looks out for each other," the police department said in a social media post.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over the past 25 years, more than 950 children have died of heatstroke, because they were left or became trapped in a hot car.
Here are tips from the NHTSA for keeping children safe:
1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.
2. Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — especially the back seat — before locking the doors and walking away.
3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
4. Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
5. Store car keys out of a child's reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.