A one-year-old baby is recovering thanks to the actions of police officers and the quick thinking of passersby who phoned 911 upon spotting the child inside a hot car.
Police in Florence, Florida say the incident took place Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of the local Walmart. Florence Police Captain Tom Grau told WLWT News that witnesses heard the infant crying from the backseat of a parked car and called 911.
According to police, witnesses said the car’s engine was turned off and the windows rolled up when they spotted the baby.
In dramatic 911 calls released by the Florence Police Department, concerned passersby are heard confronting the baby’s caregiver as they talk with dispatchers.
“Get your baby! Get your baby! Pick your baby up and get him out of this car! He is way too hot. Don’t you see how he’s acting? He’s acting lethargic.”
“Some stupid people left their baby in a car!” one woman emphatically tells 911.
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Police responded to the calls and were able to free the child from inside the car. He was transported to a local hospital but is expected to be OK.
A heat advisory was in effect at the time of the incident.
“This time of year, the temperature in a car basically turns it into a greenhouse,” Lt. Tim Webster of the Florence Police Department told WLWT. “You can have a 90-degree day and within 15 minutes, it will be 110 and in 30 minutes it will be 130-plus. This is a very dangerous situation.”
Police have charged 21-year-old Temaj Baldemar with criminal abuse of a child. An 18-year-old woman was also arrested in connection with the incident, but her name is being withheld.