Every summer we hear terrible stories about children dying in cars because their parents forgot them. We wonder, how could you forget your child in a car? The answer seems to be that harried, new parents simply become overwhelmed and make a terrible mistake. Today, however, brings us a story about a couple who allegedly left a toddler in a car intentionally. Fortunately, a woman named Sarah Oropeza was not going to stand around and let that child die. She smashed the window repeatedly to get the toddler out.
Oropeza told of using everything she could get her hands on to save the child. She cries in the video as she explains that the child was covered with sweat. She was terrified that the little girl would die. Once the couple who were responsible for the child came for her, they allegedly focused on whether insurance would pay to repair their window. They claimed that the child was their niece. Of course, the police had no intention of allowing the girl to go with the couple. Her godmother came to get her. The couple will be charged with child endangerment.
Even with the windows left open, cars reach deadly temperatures in the summer. “Cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures up to 131-172 degrees Fahrenheit when outside temperatures are 80-100F.” If it is in the 60s, the car’s temperature can still reach over 110F. It takes only 10 minutes for an enclosed car to increase 19 degrees. Even with the windows open, if it is 83F a car can reach 109F in just 15 minutes.
No one should leave a child locked in a car.
LOWENTHAL AND ABRAMS, P.C.
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