The parents of a 2-year-old boy appeared in Florida court on Monday, accused of leaving their son locked in a hot car while they went shopping.
Paola Palencia-Rodriguez and Melvin Maimes are facing charges relating to an incident on August 3 when police officers found the child alone in the car in a parking lot, according to a police report shared with Newsweek.
The report says that officers later determined the child had been alone for 30 minutes while the parents entered a Target store in Aventura, Florida. It also notes that the temperature was in the low 90s and there was an active tropical storm in the area and a tornado watch.
Per the report, the ignition was left off, doors locked and the windows rolled up. A passer-by called the police after seeing the child “sitting in his own vomit” in the car, and came to the child’s rescue by managing to convince him to unlock the door. Shortly after, the police officers arrived at the scene.
The officer noted that the child’s appearance was “sweaty, was warm to touch, and crying, he was awake and alert.”
The couple now face charges of child abuse with no bodily harm and leaving a child unattended in a car.
NBC6 reports that Judge Mindy Glazer told Palencia-Rodriguez during her bond court appearance, “You made a decision to let your child sleep in a hot car. And that child could have died.”
The judge reportedly added, “You know, ma’am, you are very lucky somebody saw your child there. It was 90 degrees out. And you are lucky you are here today in court rather than a child’s funeral.”
Defending the parents, the young boy’s grandmother reportedly spoke in bond court via Zoom, saying, “They are young and they just made a mistake. Humans make mistakes. So I would like you to reconsider and give my daughter a new chance.”
The child is currently in the custody of grandmother and the judge issued an order of supervised visitation. The child and his parents live with his grandmother.
The judge said, “You cannot be alone with the child, the mother can’t be alone with the child, because you have very poor judgment in leaving a 2-year-old locked in a hot car to sleep while you are shopping at a store.”
Originally from Venezuela, they have been in Miami for four months, after previously living in Spain and crossing the Mexican border to get into the U.S., they told the judge according to NBC6.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, heatstroke is one of the main vehicle-related causes of death among children after crashes, and can be caused by leaving a child in a hot vehicle.
The agency adds that even in cooler temperatures, the inside of a car can get dangerously hot for a child, and warns, “It is never okay to leave a child alone in or around a car for any reason.”
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