In May 1998, Michele had brought their two-and-a-half-year-old son, Harrison, to his favorite park to watch boats on the river. At the other end of the park, two children (ages two and three) were left alone in a van with the motor running and somehow knocked the gear lever into drive. The van jumped a curb stop, and raced through the park. Michele and Harrison were sitting on a park bench with their backs towards the parking lot. The van hit them with virtually no warning. Harrison flew in the air and landed on a rock embankment, while Michele was dragged underneath the van until it hit a boat being pulled out of the Missouri river. Harrison died at a hospital later that evening and Michele, after 13 surgeries, continues to struggle and recover from her injuries. The Struttmann's lives were shattered forever in a matter of seconds.

In 1995, the Fennells were kidnapped at gunpoint, stuffed in the trunk of their car, and driven to a secluded location where they were robbed and assaulted. They were fortunate; they managed to escape. Since the abduction, their organization Trunk Releases Urgently Needed Coalition (TRUNC) has gone on to conduct extensive research on how often people are locked alive inside the trunk of vehicles. The work of the TRUNC organization has been featured in national and regional media including Oprah, Dateline NBC, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, American Journal, NBC News, Court TV, CNN and in Redbook, Time, People Magazine, Readers Digest, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, other national and regional newspapers, and more.  As of September 2001, it is mandated that all automakers install a trunk release.

All the work conducted by KIDS 'N CARS™ is done in the loving memory of children who lost their life because they were left alone in or around a vehicle; while trying to prevent this from happening to any more children. The KIDS 'N CARS™ organization is dedicated to the memory of a little angel named Harrison Struttmann.

So far in 2002, KIDS ‘N CARS™ has documented 93 incidents of children being left unattended in or around vehicles.  Of these 93 incidents, 21 resulted in the death of a child.  In 2001, we have uncovered 357 incidents involving 473 victims and 97 deaths.  Of the 97 deaths, 34 children died of hyperthermia (heat stroke) because they were left inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle.  In 2000, we have documented 296 incidents involving 382 victims and 74 deaths.  People leave children unattended in or around vehicles more frequently than you think. More than one thousand cases that involved injury or death have been documented so far. Those injuries and deaths were caused by; heat stroke, a vehicle being put in motion by a child, children being hit by vehicles backing up, children choking while alone in a car, being kidnapped, carbon monoxide poisoning, children leaving the vehicle, activation of automatic power controls, fire started by a child, and by being trapped in car trunks. This provides a lower boundary of the number of people who have been affected by these preventable situations and only a fraction of the total number of incidents.

After the Struttmann’s devastating ordeal they realized that in the state of Missouri it is NOT illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle.   Many states already have laws making it illegal to leave an animal unattended in a vehicle, but not a child.  The Struttmann’s then successfully lobbied to pass a law in their home state of Missouri that calls for a person to be prosecuted if they knowingly leave a child under the age of 10 unattended in a vehicle.  On May 12, 2000 a bill passed the Missouri legislature making it a felony if a person is killed as a result of someone leaving a child in a car.  The bill went into effect on August 28, 2000.  To date, only ten states have laws on the books regarding the specific issue of leaving children unattended in a vehicle.  June 1, 2002 Illinois HB28 takes effect and it will be the eleventh state. Other states have laws; (California (new in 2002), Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) but they vary. Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have proposed legislation. KIDS 'N CARS™ will work with policy makers to raise their level of awareness regarding vehicle related non-traffic incidents and assist them in publishing model policy change and regulation. KIDS 'N CARS™ will work with states to help enact strict laws regarding children being left unattended in or around vehicles.

KIDS 'N CARS™ is constantly in need of individuals who can donate either time or money to help further this cause. Below are ways you can help with our endeavor.

1.      Sending information and newspaper stories about incidents that have occurred when children were left unattended in or around vehicles to help build KIDS ‘N CARS™ database.

2.      Leave a “Not Even for a Minute” sheet on the windshield of any vehicle where children have been left unattended.  (See website for printable flyer)  Stay with the children if you can.  If you fear the children are in eminent danger, or if the caregiver does not return within 5 minutes, call 911.

3.      Locate people who have been involved in situations where children were left unattended in or around vehicles so they can and share their experiences with others through and with the KIDS ‘N CARS™ organization.

4.      Write to local and state legislators about this important safety issue.

5.      Publish articles about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles in organization, religious, or school newsletters.

6.      Never leave your vehicle unlocked or let your children play in or around any vehicle(s).

7.      Do not leave your car keys within reach of children.

8.      Never leave children alone in a vehicle to run a quick errand.

9.   Donate monies to the KIDS ‘N CARS™ nonprofit organization.  All donations are 100% tax deductible*.

For more information, contact:

Website: http://www.kidsncars.org

*KIDS 'N CARS™ is a project of the Trauma Foundation, as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit agency, located in San Francisco.

Fact Sheet

KIDS ‘N CARS™ is a project of the Trauma Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit agency, based at San Francisco General Hospital whose mission is to pursue a greater level of public safety by making sure people understand you cannot leave children unattended in or around vehicles.  The Struttmann’s, who lost their child because other parents left their children unattended in a van with the motor running, strongly urge individuals to educate themselves and others about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles.

Personal Responsibility

People leave children unattended in vehicles more often than is widely publicized, and the results are often deadly.  KIDS ‘N CARS’™ database, the only one of its kind, includes more than one thousand six hundred cases where children were left unattended in or around vehicles.  For protection before an emergency, KIDS ‘N CARS™ advocates that individuals NEVER leave children alone in a car and NEVER allow children to play in or around vehicles.

Many caring and responsible parents have left their children alone in car, not realizing the risks involved.  Some parents think it is okay to a child alone in car while they run to an ATM, quickly drop off dry cleaning or while dripping off another child at school.  The results of leaving a child alone in or around a vehicle can be deadly.  KIDS ‘N CARS™ urges parents to NEVER leave children unattended in or around an automobile, “Not even for a minute.”

A minute can be all it takes for a child to become ill from heat or car fumes. A minute can be all it takes for someone to break into a vehicle and abduct a child. And a minute can be all it takes for a child to climb out of a car seat and shift the car into gear.

Keeping Children Safe

Anyone can become a victim of these preventable deaths and injuries, but children are especially at risk. In 2001, 34 children died of hyperthermia (heat stroke) because they were left inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle.  There were a total of 97 children that died in 2001 as a result of being left unattended in or around a vehicle.  In 2000, 29 children died of hyperthermia and a total of 74 children died because they were left unattended in or around a vehicle. To save children from these preventable deaths and injuries it takes both education and parental (caregiver) diligence.

• Never leave children alone or unsupervised in or around vehicles - "Not even for a minute." Car trunks become a tempting, secret place to hide, and a quick and easy place for abductors to make children disappear.
• Never leave car keys where children can get them.
• Always lock vehicles so children cannot get into a car unsupervised. Unlocked vehicles pose serious risks to children who are naturally curious and often lack fear. Keep the doors and trunk of vehicles locked when parked in the garage, driveway, or near home. · A child left unattended in or around vehicles is like handing them a loaded gun. Vehicles are two tons of steel that can be VERY dangerous. · Arm children with facts. Teach children about the dangers of a car. A car is NOT a toy.

Support the Need to Pass Stricter Laws

You can create awareness of the frequency and circumstances of vehicle related non-traffic injuries and deaths by:

• Helping build the KIDS 'N CARS™ database. The first of its kind, KIDS 'N CARS™ tracks cases of children left unattended in or around vehicles, with more than two thousand two hundred victims documented to date. Individuals can help build the database by providing information on cases found via the Internet, newspapers, Emergency room data and reports, trauma physicians, magazine articles, and handwritten or documented oral stories.
• Writing to local and state legislators about the importance of this vital, life-saving safety issue.
• Talking to friends, relatives, co-workers and colleagues at professional meetings, religious gatherings, schools and clubs about the KIDS 'N CARS™ cause.
• Publishing articles about the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles in organization, religious, or school newsletters.
• Contributing to KIDS 'N CARS™ to help defray expenses or donating time to assist in the effort. All donations are 100% tax deductible.*

This takes work in homes, schools, and local communities nationwide; as well as government support.

For more information, contact:

*KIDS 'N CARS™ is a project of the Trauma Foundation, as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit agency, located in San Francisco.

CHILDREN ENCOUNTER DANGERS WHEN LEFT ALONE IN VEHICLES
EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL CASES FROM THE KIDS 'N CARS™ DATABASE Fact Sheet

Every year in the United States, many children are injured or die when left unattended in or around vehicles. Below are actual cases where children have been left alone in or around vehicles and provide details on how innocent "childs play" can turn lethal.

Okeechobee News
May 02, 2002

Toddler takes car, mother is arrested

A toddler was uninjured and her mother arrested for child abuse after the child drove the mother's car across S.R. 70 shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday where it reportedly collided with a parked vehicle

 Ruth Lynn Chambers, 20, of Northwest 46th Street, Okeechobee, told Okeechobee City Police patrolman William Hill that she had pulled into a convenience store to buy gas.

Chambers, according to Hill's report, said she took her daughter out of the car to go inside the store to pay for the gas, but could not remember if the child, who will be 2 years old in July, was behind her.

Chambers reportedly told the officer she had left her car running and unattended at the pump with the driver's door open. She said while she was paying for her gas, she looked out and saw the car drive across the four-lane road into another parking lot, where it struck a parked vehicle in front of another business, said the officer.

The officer estimated Chambers' car traveled more than 50 feet before coming to a stop.

The car managed to cross the busy roadway without being struck by other vehicles.

Hill reported the child apparently returned to her mother's car unobserved and managed to engage the gearshift.

Based on Hill's investigation of the accident scene, Chambers was arrested and charged with abuse, aggravated abuse and neglect of a child. An abuse report was also filed with the abuse hotline.

The child was released into the custody of Chambers' mother.

Garden City Telegram
April 30, 2002

Woman arrested after leaving infant in unventilated car

For half an hour Monday, a 28-year-old woman shopped while her 11-month-old baby-sat in a car with no ventilation or open windows, Garden City police say.

But when an angry customer confronted Ann Smeltzer in the parking lot of Dillons and told her the police were coming, Smeltzer allegedly turned violent.

Police say Smeltzer got in her car and hit the woman in the leg. Smeltzer's 4-year-old daughter, whom she took inside the store, also was in the car during the incident. Police say there were two witnesses.

Cimarron resident Kathy Coburn was not hurt, nor was the 11-month-old baby or the girl.

"She left the windows shut, and there were no means of ventilation ... the child was left in the car at least 30 minutes," Capt. Mike Utz said.

Police responding to the store for a report of child neglect arrested Smeltzer for aggravated battery and child endangerment, as well as on a warrant for an unknown offense occurring outside city limits.

Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA)
March 13, 2002

Toddler run over, killed in driveway

A 2-year-old Ukiah girl was killed Friday when a driver accidentally backed over her in a car.

Jeannette Allison Moss was standing behind a 1986 Jeep Cherokee on a private driveway off Pinoleville Road when she was run over, the CHP said Tuesday.

The driver of the Jeep, 20-year-old Heather K. Michael, told CHP officers she didn't see the toddler when she backed up her car about 4 p.m.

Moss suffered major injuries and died at Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

The Oklahoman
April 18, 2002

Boy in serious condition after being left in hot car

A 14-month old Oklahoma City boy suffered a serious heat- related injury Wednesday when his father mistakenly left him in a parked car, authorities said.

The boy's parents called 911 about 3 p.m. and said the boy was left in the car at his home in the 20000 block of SE 74, said Paul O'Leary, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokesman.

When firefighters and paramedics arrived, the boy's parents had taken him inside the house and were cooling him underneath a fan, fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said.

"What we were told is that the father mistakenly left the child in the car about 15 minutes," Stanaland said. "He told us that during that time, the door was open."

Temperatures Wednesday afternoon were in the mid-80s. However, temperatures inside a car could easily exceed 100 degrees after 15 minutes, Stanaland said.

The boy was taken by air ambulance to OU Medical Center. A hospital spokesman said he was in serious condition.

Las Vegas Review-Journal
April 06, 2002

Father says he's learned important lesson

Man relieved to have son back after four-hour manhunt

Jesse Lugo said Friday he will never again leave his child alone, not even for a minute.

"I know what I did was wrong," Lugo said. "I left my son alone in the car. What happened with my boy yesterday, I just hope people can learn from that."

On Thursday, Lugo parked his car in an alley running parallel to Stewart Avenue, near Eastern Avenue. The father left his 3-year-old son, Jesus, alone in the idling car for less than two minutes while he went to meet a friend at a nearby apartment complex, police said.

That was all the time a car thief needed to get behind the wheel and set off a frantic, four-hour manhunt.

Witnesses said a young man with a shaved head climbed into the vehicle and backed it into a metal object that was on the ground.

Lugo then came running at the car, yelling in Spanish and English. Lugo tried to get into the car through the rear passenger-side door but was thrown to the ground.

The car thief then drove out of the alley and fled west on Marlin Avenue.

For four hours, Lugo wept and pleaded for the return of his young son, who had been seated in the back of the stolen Buick Regal. He flailed his arms and repeatedly collapsed to the ground. His legs were covered with abrasions suffered in his attempt to stop the car theft. Lugo's voice on Friday was hoarse from the strain of yelling and shouting at the car thief.

Police said Friday they are investigating the car theft, but they have no leads and have not identified a suspect.

"I just kissed him and hugged him and smelled him," Lugo said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I just said, `This is my baby boy.' "

Lugo said he is thrilled to have his son back and is grateful to police and others who helped him recover the boy. But he said he is frustrated that police have not informed him of their progress on the case.

Lugo's wife, Rosa, who had comforted her husband during the ordeal and stood before reporters to plead with the man who took her son Thursday, was still shaken Friday and declined to comment.

"I'm happy because my boy is back," Jesse Lugo said. "He's a handful, but he's a wonderful kid. I had a lot of faith, but I was giving up. But he was all right. He's doing OK."

The Palm Beach Post
February 28, 2002

 BOY CRITICAL AFTER BEING HIT BY SUV

 FORT PIERCE

 A 4-year-old boy was in critical condition Wednesday night, hit by an SUV as he tried to cross Avenue D by himself to find his mother.

 Fort Pierce police spokeswoman Audria Moore said Adam Jones' mother left him in the car Wednesday afternoon and crossed the street to go into a business in the 1500 block of Avenue D.

 A little while later, the boy went to look for his mom, Moore said, stepping into the street between two parked cars. Antonio D. Young, 25, of Fort Pierce was driving his red Isuzu Rodeo westbound on Avenue D and tried to swerve when he hit the child, Moore said.

 The right front side of the SUV hit the little boy in the head, Moore said.

 He was flown to the trauma unit of St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

 The incident was still under investigation Wednesday night.

The Daily Journal (Fergus Falls, MN)
February 20, 2002

A Fergus Falls woman said she won't be able to leave her children alone in the car again after a nearly tragic incident.

Kimberly Block had driven to Breckenridge Monday with two of her three children. She was looking for a special kind of makeup she needed for her new job as a check out cashier at Service Food Super Valu.

About 12:15 p.m., Block pulled up to her destination, Loopy's Dollar Store. Her youngest son, Christopher Prince, 2, was asleep in his car seat. Her older son, Jonathan, 10, was also in the family van. Her daughter, was elsewhere with her father.

Block went into the store and right near the front door, found the makeup she was looking for. After paying for the goods, Block headed out the door to her van.

"At first I thought it was smoke coming from somewhere in the exhaust system under the van," said Block.

But when she pulled open the sliding side door, smoke billowed out from inside. Then Block said she noticed flames shooting up from between the two front bucket seats.

"My biggest concern was getting the little one out," she said. "The fire was real close to him and I was afraid he'd be burned."

Kimberly was able to free Christopher and she handed him to a bystander. She had a water jug in the van and tried to douse the flames, but the fire was already out of control.

An ambulance took Jonathan and Christopher to St. Francis Medical Center in Breckenridge to be checked over. Jonathan was reporting a sore throat at the scene. Both were released after being treated for smoke inhalation.

Associated Press
December 6, 2001

Baldwin Township Mom Accidently Runs Over Son

PRINCETON, Minn. -- A 15-month-old boy died Wednesday after his mother accidentally backed her minivan over him in Baldwin Township, authorities said.

Leslie Lindley thought her son, Trevor, was in his car seat when she started to back out of a garage around 9 a.m., according to the Sherburne County Sheriff's Department.

Lindley said she paused when she heard a noise underneath the vehicle as she was backing out. She assumed she had ran over a toy, but then found her son beneath the van, according to a sheriff's report.

Trevor suffered serious head injuries and was taken to a hospital in Princeton. He was later transferred to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, where he died at Wednesday afternoon.

The boy's death has been ruled an accident and criminal charges are not expected, said a spokesman for Sheriff Bruce Anderson.

It was unclear whether Lindley ever put her son in the car seat or if the toddler had managed to get out of the car seat.

San Francisco Chronicle
December 1, 2001

Police hunt for missing 6-year-old
Boy was in back of mom's SUV when vehicle was stolen in S.F.

San Francisco -- A San Francisco mother made a tearful plea last night for the safe return of her 6-year-old son, who was asleep in the back of her SUV when it was stolen yesterday.

Rachelle Paige, 35, reported her son, Okorie Scarbor, missing at 4:50 p.m. yesterday. She told police she left him inside her 1999 Isuzu Rodeo while she went inside a uniform store on the 350 block of Ninth Street near Ringold Street. The keys were in the ignition and the driver's door was unlocked.

Paige said about seven to 10 minutes later, she looked outside and saw the SUV was gone.

"If you have my baby, just bring him back," Paige told reporters in a hastily arranged news conference last night. "He's happy. He doesn't bother anybody. I just want my son back."

San Francisco police said an opportunistic thief may have taken the car, perhaps without even noticing the boy inside. In such cases, said Inspector Marta McDowell, thieves who accidentally take children often get scared off.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the Bay Area, including the California Highway Patrol, were quickly notified to look out for the vehicle. San Francisco police said they were still looking for witnesses to the theft.

The missing SUV, a green, four-door Isuzu Rodeo with gray bumpers, has license plate No. 4HAA490. The left rear bumper is dented, and there is a white stuffed animal on the dashboard.

Okorie, a first-grader at George Washington Carver Elementary School, is African American. He stands 4 feet tall, weighs 90 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. He was wearing a red-and-black San Francisco 49ers jacket, a blue-and-gold windbreaker, a white shirt and blue corduroy pants.

"I am," he said last night. "I know all the things that can happen to him."

The Grand Rapids Press
November 1, 2001

Baby left in car chokes on safety seat strap, dies ; The child was left sitting in the car seat to stay warm while the mother was helping her father move.

 MUSKEGON -- A 10-month-old Shelby girl died Tuesday after apparently choking to death on the strap of her infant car seat, according to the Muskegon County Sheriff's Department.

"It appears to have been an accident," said Detective Roger Robillard. He said the investigation was continuing today and that an autopsy was pending.

Robillard identified the victim as Trinity Madison Bromley, the daughter of Jennifer Lynn Bromley, 26, of Shelby.

He said Bromley had taken her three young children to her father's home in Muskegon County's Dalton Township Tuesday afternoon around 5 p.m. "She was helping him move," Robillard said.

The mobile home occupied by her father, Michael Pugh, did not have heat, the detective said. So Bromley put her baby daughter in the inside her car because it was cold outside.

She then went back to helping her father.

The mother removed the baby from the car and told her father to run in and call 911, he said. She brought the baby inside and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructions from Central Dispatch over the phone.

Asheville Citizen Times

No charges filed in death of a toddler

LEICESTER — The State Highway Patrol has completed its investigation into the Sunday death of a 3-year-old boy run over in the driveway of a Bear Creek Lane home while playing with his older brother and has turned the case over to Buncombe County Department of Social Services.

Alijah Austin Norton was dead on arrival Sunday afternoon at Mission St. Joseph’s Health Center.

There were no charges filed by the Highway Patrol, according to Trooper R.W. Silvers.

Both the 6-year-old and 3-year-old brothers were playing in the car and no adults witnessed the accident, Silvers said.

According to the trooper, the investigation indicates one of the boys took the car out of gear, allowing the car to roll. Both boys then got out of the vehicle, with the 3-year-old being struck by the open door, which knocked him down. He was run over by a front tire, causing massive head trauma.

A neighbor took the boy and his grandmother to the hospital, leaving before the French Broad Fire Department responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call.

The Tampa Tribune
July 9, 2001

 Toddler identified who died from heat in car

SEFFNER - Sheriff's deputies identified the 2-year-old boy who died Saturday after he climbed into his mother's car.

 James Schommer died of environmental hyperthermia when the car got too hot, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office determined.

 Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies said that sometime Saturday, James wandered out of his home at 1607 Pasadena Drive in Seffner, climbed into the vehicle and then into a child-safety seat.

 The toddler's mother found him unconscious about 3 p.m. James was pronounced dead at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City at 4:20 p.m. Detectives were investigating the case Sunday, spokesman Lt. Harold Winsett said.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
June 4, 2001

 Baby dies after getting tangled in parts of a car seat

IOLA, Kan.

 A 1-year-old girl died when she apparently got tangled in parts of a car seat, authorities said. Iola police detective Shannon Moore said an autopsy indicated Evion K. Boyer's died of suffocation.

 The baby's father, Robin Boyer, had left the girl in the car when he went into a video store Friday evening, Moore said. When Boyer returned the baby was not breathing.

 She died early Saturday at the Allen County Hospital.

 Moore said an investigation of the incident was continuing.

The Inquirer
May 31, 2001

Power seat kills girl, 5, playing in family's SUV

WILLISTOWN - A 5-year-old girl playing at home just a few feet from her parents was killed Tuesday night after she climbed into the family's luxury SUV and eventually became crushed between the driver's seat and part of the car's frame, police said yesterday.

Samantha Ann Leslie was discovered by her parents, John and Carol Leslie, in the car in their driveway shortly before 8 p.m., less than 15 minutes after they last saw her alive. The girl was pinned between the seat and a part of the frame known as the B-pillar behind the door of the 2001 Chevy Tahoe, police said.

Chester County Coroner Rodger Rothenberger said the girl most likely was climbing through the crack between the front seat and door when she pressed one of the buttons on a door console that moves the seat to pre-programmed positions.

"There were a couple of positions programmed in there," Rothenberger said. "We are asking possibly did she get in there and trigger one of the buttons, and the seat then began moving and crushed her."

According to a database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that monitors national vehicle safety, no similar problems have been reported for the vehicle.

"It is a tough one to try and track, though," said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the agency. "Because unless it is considered a design defect, or unless it happened on a highway, we don't always know about it."

The girl was rushed to Paoli Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead about an hour after she was discovered trapped.

Willistown Township Police Chief Hugh Murray said he did not expect to file charges.

The Salt Lake Tribune

February 19, 2001

Tot is run over

A 1-year-old boy was run over Sunday afternoon by a visitor at his Kearns home. Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators said the baby's parents lost track of their child as they were walking a friend from their porch to the car.  As the friend backed out of the driveway, the child fell under the rear axle and was dragged about four feet. The child was bleeding from the head and mouth when sheriff's deputies arrived, but did not suffer internal injuries. The baby was taken to Primary Children's Medical Center for observation, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The Associated Press

November 21, 2000

Carjacked girl reunited with mother; second incident in Upstate

GREENVILLE, S.C.

 A 6-year-old girl, who was carjacked when she was left alone in a Jeep with the ignition on, is safe and sound - the second time in 10 days a car has been taken from the Upstate with a child inside.

 Kyana Sullivan, of Greenville, briefly left her child in the vehicle with the keys inside and went into a convenience store to pay for gas when a person sped off in her Jeep, Greenville County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Gambrell said. Five minutes later, police spotted the Jeep parked a block away with the child inside. The carjacker is still at large.

 On Nov. 9, a 21-year-old Clemson woman left her 10-month-old baby in her Dodge Neon with the engine running when a man jumped in and stole it. She was reunited with her child when the carjacker dropped the baby off 20 miles away outside a grocery store.

 An 18-year-old boy, Joey Lee Townsend, was arrested and charged with kidnapping, grand larceny and car theft in that case.

The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)
November 13, 2000

 3-year-old hit by car still in hospital

A 3-year-old girl was in fair condition Sunday after she was hit by a car her father was backing out of a driveway.

 Mariah Starr Potter of 171 Birdsong Lane, Timberlake, suffered serious chest and internal injuries, Durham police said. The accident occurred at 3006 Alabama Ave. at 11:36 a.m. Saturday. Mariah was still in Duke Hospital Sunday.

 Police said Brett Duane Potter, 42, did not see his daughter behind a 1990 Buick Regal when he put the car in reverse and backed down the home's driveway. Mariah was struck by a tire on the car's left side, police said.

 According to reports, alcohol was not a factor in the accident, which was still under investigation Sunday. Charges are pending completion of the investigation, police said.

 The Potters were visiting relatives at the Alabama Avenue home at the time, police said.

Las Vegas Sun
October 24, 2000

 New regulation too late for boy trapped in trunk

By Keith Paul

A 3-year-old boy who wandered out of his Las Vegas house and was found hours later in the trunk of the family car died over the weekend -- days after a new federal regulation was put in place requiring release levers inside trunks.

An autopsy will be performed today to determine what killed Kenneth Smith, who died Sunday about 9:50 a.m. in University Medical Center, said Ron Flud, Clark County coroner.

Metro Police's neglect and abuse detectives are investigating the boy's death but have found no indication of any criminal wrongdoing, Lt. Tom Monahan said.

About 2 p.m. Thursday the boy's mother called police, saying her son was missing from the home on Demetrius Avenue. The mother told officers she had taken a nap about 9:30 a.m. and when she woke up about noon, her son was missing, said Officer Tirso Dominguez, a department spokesman.

She searched for her missing child for about two hours and then called police, he said.

Officers found Kenneth in the trunk of the car at 2:48 p.m. and he was taken to the hospital.

"We're looking into it, which is standard procedure in this type of case," he said.

A new federal regulation was announced Oct. 17 -- two days before Kenneth apparently locked himself in the trunk -- to prevent such deaths.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater announced that all new passengers cars starting Sept. 1, 2001, must have a release or other automatic system inside the trunk to allow for escape. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration panel was formed in November 1998 after a summer where 11 children died in trunks.

While the Las Vegas Valley is known for high temperatures that can kill a child -- or an adult -- in a car, Thursday's high temperature was listed at 84 degrees according to AccuWeather. In other cases of children wandering off and later found dead in car trunks, the temperature has been about the same as Thursday's.

In a four-week span during the 1998 summer 11 children -- ages 2 to 6 -- died after getting trapped in car trunks in three cities -- including five little girls in a Salt Lake City suburb.

On July 13, 1998, four children ages 2 to 5 were discovered inside a trunk in Gallup, N.M. The children apparently had climbed into the car's open trunk. They were believed to have been in the trunk for about two hours on a day with a temperature of about 90 degrees. Three died that day and the fourth died the next day.

On Aug. 2, 1998, two brothers ages 2 and 5 in Greensboro, Pa., apparently found the keys to the family car and climbed inside the trunk. They were missing for several hours before being found. The afternoon temperature for the day was 85 degrees.

On Aug. 8, 1998, five West Valley City, Utah, girls ages 2 to 6 were found dead in the trunk of a car owned by one of the children's parents. One of the girls apparently knew how to operate the trunk-release level next to the driver's seat. The girls had not been seen for about 20 minutes when the search for them started. About 90 minutes later they were found dead inside the trunk. The temperature at the time was listed at 100 degrees.

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
October 10, 2000

 2 brothers critically hurt in accidental van fire

Two brothers, ages 1 and 4, were in critical condition Monday afternoon after they were burned in an accidental fire in their parents' van in Buffalo Township that morning.

 The boys, whose names weren't released, are the children of Alan and Jennifer Pecarina.  The Wright County Sheriff's Office said it appeared that the 4-year-old boy ignited something in the back of the van just before 10 a.m. Monday. That created an "intense flashover-type fire," said Sheriff Gary Miller. It was not clear exactly how the boy ignited the fire.

 Jennifer Pecarina had left the van for a moment at her home in the 3400 block of 20th St. NE., when the van caught fire, Miller said.

 He said the Pecarinas were giving first aid to their sons when emergency workers arrived.

 The boys were taken to Allina Hospital in Buffalo and were airlifted a short time later to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The Associated Press
June 8, 2000

 Runaway car with baby on board careens into vacant building

PICAYUNE, Miss.

Victoria Varnado's crash course in driving didn't last long.

But the seven-month-old infant is expected to get another chance in 16years or so.

 Varnado was in the back seat of her grandmother Barbara Jo Brown's carTuesday, strapped in her car seat, when the vehicle started to roll out of the parking lot.

 The Nissan sports car traveled more than 300 feet and struck the side of a Dakota’s Steakhouse that was closed for business.

 "Nothing was on my mind ... but running as fast I could," Brown said.

 Brown was ticketed by police for leaving the car running and unattended, but Varnado was let go without even a warning.

 The accident caused about $2,500 worth of damage to the building.

The Associated Press
June 2, 2000

 Stillwater mother charged in death of baby left in closed car

NEWTON, N.J.

 A Stillwater woman whose toddler son died after she left him in a closed car baking in the sun for hours remained jailed Friday, charged with reckless manslaughter.

 Authorities were awaiting the results of toxicology tests to determine exactly what killed 13-month-old Jack R. Hayes Wednesday, Pam Prather, media liaison for the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, said Friday.

 "We don't have an official cause of death," Prather said. "It's under investigation, and there's nothing further that we have to add at this time." The case illustrates the danger of leaving children or pets unattended in a car, even when the outside temperature seems safe.

 While the mercury only hit the low 60s Wednesday, the boy's body temperature was 108 degrees roughly an hour after he died Wednesday afternoon. The tot had been left inside a car with the windows rolled up for more than two hours while his mother, Christine Brennan Hayes, visited the Newton home of a friend, whom authorities have not identified.

 Hayes, 33, was arrested by Newton police Wednesday and charged with second-degree reckless manslaughter and second-degree endangerment of a child's welfare.

Superior Court Judge Gerald B. Hanifan ordered Hayes, a 1984 graduate of North Warren Regional High School, held on $200,000 bail - without the customary 10 percent cash option.

"I don't anticipate that she will (make bail)," Prather said.

The judge rejected Hayes' pleas for a lower bail, citing Hayes' lack of employment, the risk she might flee and the serious nature of the charges. Hayes' mother, Linda Brennan, unsuccessfully argued that her daughter would not flee.

"All I want to do is mourn," Hayes told Hanifan in court Thursday, her long blond hair streaming over her orange jail jumpsuit. "All I want to do is be with my family."

Her husband, Alexander Hayes, said that his wife would not intentionally hurt their only child, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Friday's editions. "Jack was a great kid. His mom was a loving mom," he said. "It was a terrible accident. It really was."

 He said his wife, a former student at Sussex County Community College who wanted to become a writer and professor, had put her career on the back burner to raise young Jack.

 According to the prosecutor's office, Christine Hayes arrived at her friend's home on Hamilton Street about 10 a.m. Wednesday, bringing her son inside with her initially. Shortly after noon, the mother brought him outside, put him in his car seat and went back in her friend's house.

 Authorities said Hayes came out of the house twice to check on the baby through the car's windows, but on her third check, she discovered he was unresponsive.

Police were called to the home just after 3 p.m. Despite the efforts of Newton police and emergency department staff at Newton Memorial Hospital, the boy could not be revived.

 A hospital doctor conducted an autopsy Wednesday night, but couldn't definitively determine the cause of death without the toxicology results.

 "It's dangerous to leave a child in a car any time of year," said Andy Williams, a spokesman for the state Division of Youth and Family Services. "If the outside temperature is in the high 70s, a car can heat up to 125 degrees within fifteen minutes."

 At noon Wednesday, the temperature in Newton was only 63 degrees, but the humidity was at 66 percent.

 "The windows of a car act like a greenhouse," added Alan Meltzer, pediatrics director for Atlantic Health Systems. "The sun cooks up the air."

That makes the person sweat to reduce core body temperature, but triggers dehydration, lethargy and a semiconscious state in which a baby could appear to be sleeping. Once a person sweats about 15 percent of his body weight - about 3 pounds for a 13-month-old baby - he usually will go into shock, a life-threatening condition in which blood pressure drops too low.

The Providence Journal-Bulletin
January 19, 2000

 POLICE FREE UNATTENDED TODDLER FROM CAR WHILE MOTHER SHOPS

 PAWTUCKET - Investigators are questioning a woman who left her 21-month-old son inside a parked car with the engine shut off yesterday morning while she shopped for at least 30 minutes at the Shaw's Supermarket just off of North Main Street.

 The boy was taken to Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island for treatment of mild hypothermia he had a temperature of 95 degrees, according to the police and was later released.

 The mother, a 33-year-old Providence woman, was released from police custody without charges after an interview yesterday afternoon, said Detective Lt. John Clarkson. Her case was turned over to an investigator with the Department of Children, Youth and Families. It was unclear last night if the boy was still in his mother's care.

 "This makes no sense whatsoever given that there were warnings last night to take in your small pets due to the cold weather," Clarkson said.

 It was not known how long the boy had been left unattended. The mother told the police that she was inside the supermarket for a few minutes, but more than a few minutes elapsed from the time a 911 caller reported the boy until the police freed him, Clarkson said.

 "The baby was in the car a minimum of half an hour," he said.

The temperature in Pawtucket yesterday morning was 16 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

 A 911 caller told the police that the boy was alone in the parking lot at 11:17 a.m., Clarkson said.

 An officer drove to the supermarket at 50 Ann Mary St., near the Pawtucket-Providence city line, and quickly found the boy. The officer determined the boy was OK and decided to wait a few minutes more for a tow truck equipped with tools to open the locked car rather than break one of the windows.

 The police would have broken into the car if the boy seemed unresponsive or in immediate danger, Clarkson said.

 It was not known whether the boy was wearing warm clothes when he was pulled from the car.

Press Journal (Vero Beach, FL)
November 14, 1999

WOMAN ACCIDENTALLY RUNS OVER DAUGHTER

SULPHUR SPRINGS - A woman ran over her 1-year-old daughter with a truck, killing her, after the child slipped out of the house and into the driveway, said a police official.

Shamara Watson did not realize she had run over her daughter accidentally Friday until she received a telephone call more than 30 minutes later, police said.   According to a police report, Ms. Watson was about to leave her home for a doctor's appointment when the child's father, Aaron Tyler, came outside to speak with her briefly.

She talked to him through the driver's window, said goodbye and backed her battered Dodge truck out of their driveway.

As Tyler walked back inside the one-story house in Sulphur Springs, about 5 miles northeast of Tampa, he saw a crumpled form lying in the driveway.

Then Tyler, 24, realized it was his 1-year-old daughter, Michelle. Unknown to Tyler, the child had followed him out of the house.

Tyler rushed inside and called 911. Paramedics were unable to save Michelle who was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Tampa General Hospital.

Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA.)
December 9, 1999

Children in runaway car left unhurt

Three New Holland children left by their mother in a parked car escaped unharmed Wednesday afternoon when the vehicle rolled into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer on Route 23.

According to New Holland police, Regina Bair, 31, parked her car in the driveway of her home at 607 E. Main St. and went inside to retrieve something.

She left her children -- ages 5, 4 and 3 -- inside the car.

Police said the 5-year-old managed to take the Volkswagen Jetta station wagon out of gear and the car rolled down the steep driveway.

A westbound tractor-trailer, driven by Wesley Bolesta, 37, of Fort White, Fla., hit the right rear of the car, causing moderate damage. It was traveling about 25 mph when it hit the car at 12:17 p.m.

"It was an accident," the New Holland police officer who investigated the accident said. "There wasn't anything there to charge anyone with, but (Bair) was very lucky. It could've been a very bad scene."

The Associated Press
July 29, 1999

Child's death ruled accidental

DATELINE: SHIPROCK, N.M.

A 5-year-old girl found dead in the back seat of an unlocked sheriff's patrol car in Shiprock died of heat exposure, and the death has been ruled accidental.

Mercella Erinia Lee of Waterflow apparently crawled into the car July 22 and became trapped, officials said.

San Juan County Deputy Everett Howe, who was on vacation, discovered the child in the back seat of his cruiser the next afternoon.

The unit is equipped with child locks that engage when the doors are closed. Police Capt. Randy John said they prevented the girl from getting out.

"It's installed on all new modern cars. It engages when you pull on the latch. It won't open," he said.

An investigation report by the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations released Wednesday and a preliminary autopsy by the Office of the Medical Investigator say the child died of hyperthermal exposure to heat.

"The investigation indicated there's was no type of foul play, trauma or anything that would indicate any kind of criminal activity," John said.

The girl had been playing with Howe's children at his rural home July 22 and was sent home. The Howe family drove off and saw her walking across an irrigation ditch toward her family's farm, John said.

The girl's mother, Priscilla Lee, assumed her daughter was still playing with the Howe children, while the Howes thought she'd gone home.

The Plain Dealer
July 16, 1999

TODDLER GOES FOR A SPIN; 2-YEAR-OLD DRIVES CAR 200 FEET, SMASHES FENCE AFTER MOM GOES BACK INSIDE TO GET SOMETHING SHE HAD FORGOTTEN

Fourteen years from being eligible to drive, JaSean Woods ditched the Hot Wheels toys he was playing with yesterday morning and hopped into the driver's seat of his mother's 1986 Monte Carlo.

He slid it into gear and inched about 200 feet - past two thick trees and a utility pole - before crashing into a chain-link fence surrounding his neighbor's front lawn.

Neighbors who had seen the car creeping along W. 58th St. thought it was driverless. They were astounded when they ran over and found JaSean white-knuckled and bawling, trying to spin the steering wheel.

"I in twouble," said JaSean, who turned 2 in March, as he watched a Cleveland police officer writing his report.

JaSean was not hurt.

LaShawn Woods, the toddler's mother, was on her way to drop off JaSean at day care before going to work. She had already belted him into the back seat of her car about 8:50 a.m. when she realized she had forgotten something inside her apartment.

The car was parked on the street, on the west side of W. 58th St., south of Detroit Ave. Woods dashed inside, leaving JaSean alone with his toys and the car running, she said.

"I was only gone a second," she said.

When she returned, the car was gone. "I thought JaSean had been kidnapped," she said.

Neighbor Anthony Calabrese saw the car rolling down the street, toward W. Clinton Ave.

The car drifted east and barreled over Felix Lopez's fence, pushing it 10 feet into his yard. The car stopped but was still running when Lopez and Calabrese reached it.

"I can't believe he wasn't hurt," said Lopez, who called 9-1-1. "Then we started laughing, and I asked his mother, 'Does he have his driver's license yet?'

Calabrese was upset that Woods had left her son alone. Woods said she had never done that before. Police said she probably would be cited for leaving the car running and unattended, and she also agreed to pay to repair the fence.

As a police officer talked with neighbors, JaSean was oblivious, playing in the dirt that had been disturbed by the tires in Lopez's lawn. His mother, still shaken, turned to him and said, "No more Froot Loops for breakfast, kiddo."

The Tampa Tribune
October 12, 2000

9-year-old victim calmly picks out man she says attacked her

TAMPA - Confident and showing little emotion, a 9-year-old girl pointed to a man in court  Wednesday and identified him as the cross-dressing kidnapper who sexually abused her in a motel  parking lot.

The girl, wearing her school uniform, was among the first to testify against Brian Christopher  Graham, 36, during his jury trial.

Police, who say Graham was responsible for a string of attacks that terrorized the area for more  than six months, charged Graham with assaulting the girl in July 1999 after they connected him with  a case in Temple Terrace. Temple Terrace police found him by tracing a partial license tag number provided by witnesses  who said they saw him, wearing nothing but a black bra, drive by two young girls in his pickup  truck.

The Tampa case began with the girl's kidnapping outside a health food store on MacDill Avenue.  Her mother, a regular of the store, ran inside for a few groceries and left her daughter and  younger son in her Toyota sports utility vehicle with the engine running.

Assistant prosecutor Michael Sinacore said Graham yanked the girl from the SUV, tossed her in  his red truck and fondled her outside a motel.

Sinacore played two tapes for the jury, one of a conversation leading to a confession to police,  and the other of a conversation with Graham's wife, Felecia.

"I did take her, and I did touch her," Graham said in weepy conversation with his wife.

On the police tape, a detective got Graham to open up by describing the girl's emotional state.

"She's afraid to close her eyes," the detective said. "Afraid someone is going to grab her and take  her away from her mother again. ... Help her out, Brian. Tell me why."

The jury also heard from the girl's mother, investigators and forensic experts who found  fingerprints and fiber evidence.

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA.)
May 27, 1999

Toddler left alone dies in burning car

VICKSBURG, Miss. - A toddler left alone in a car with its engine running died when the vehicle burst into flames in the carport of her home, authorities said Tuesday.

What caused the fire has not been determined, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. He said the child, Brooke Gladwell, died about 4 p.m. Monday.

"The child was unattended momentarily, and as the mother rushed back to the vehicle, the vehicle was consumed in fire," Pace said. "Efforts to extinguish it were futile."Pace said the fire spread from the Hyundai Accent to the carport ceiling, causing some minor damage to the wood and brick home.

"It was probably one of the most, if not the most, tragic incidents I've ever been to," said Robert Pell, chief of the LeTourneau Volunteer Fire Department and the first firefighter on the scene.

The toddler's mother, Jessica Gladwell, a neighbor and a passing motorist extinguished the fire with a garden hose, Pace said.

Relatives of Jessica Gladwell said the woman's 4-year-old daughter, Haley, alerted her to the fire.

Jessica Gladwell was treated for shock at the Vicksburg Medical Center.

The Charlotte Observer (NC)
February 18, 1999

 DAD RUNS OVER HIS 19-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER

A 19-month-old girl was killed Wednesday after her father accidentally ran her over with his van, state police said.

The toddler, Elizabeth Bond, died at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. She was taken there by ambulance after her father, Jackson Bond, ran over her outside her grandmother's home about 5:30 p.m., said Lance Cpl. J.T. Suter of the S.C. Highway Patrol.

The accident happened in the grandmother's driveway off Dr. Nichols Road, 3 miles north of York.

Suter said the father did not see the child. He will not be charged, the trooper added.

York County Coroner Doug McKown said the infant died shortly after arriving at the hospital and had severe head injuries.

``It is my understanding that the parents were in the yard talking and she wandered out of the house without anybody seeing her. It just sounds like a real terrible accident,'' McKown said.

Shortly after the accident, Bond’s gray van sat on the dirt drive with its driver’s side door open. A state trooper took photographs of the van as crying relatives watched from the front steps of the grandmother’s mobile home. A pile of blankets and clothes were in the driveway a few feet in front of the van.

Jackson and Michele Bond, who have two other children, also live on Dr. Nichols Road, Suter said. They could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

``They are devastated. I spoke with them a few minutes ago,’’ McKown said Wednesday night after he left Piedmont Medical Center. ``It’s tough. It’s really, really tough.’’

He said a state statute requires autopsies be done on all children who die, but said it excludes children killed in car accidents. He believes the infant will fall into that category.

The Courier (IA)
December 23, 1998

Car carrying kids stolen

Father loses, recovers three children and vehicle

WATERLOO

A Waterloo man nearly lost his three small children and car when he went into an automotive parts store Tuesday.

According to a police report, Jeffrey Hamlin of 215 Boston St., left his car running when he went into Parts America store at 1995 Enterprise Ave. about 11:30 a.m. to return a car battery.

He told police the motor was left on because the car's alternator was not working properly.

When he came out of the store, the car carrying his children was gone.

"I looked where I thought I parked my car and it wasn't there," Hamlin said. "My heart just stopped. It sunk. I thought, 'My babies are gone.' "

Before police reached the scene, the car was spotted in the old Kmart parking lot about a half block away. The children were not harmed.

"I hope somebody else learns from my mistake," Hamlin said. "I don't care if I'm going in to buy a stamp at the post office or to drop off a letter, I'm taking the kids with me. They mean too much to me."

Waterloo police Sgt. Mark Langenwalter said Hamlin was lucky the incident didn't become a tragic one.

"The kids could have been found dead, abused, who knows what," he said. "When it comes to the lives of your kids, you need to take precautions to keep these bad people from getting them."

Hamlin was not cited for leaving the car running, because it was on private property. According to police it is against the law to leave a car running on public property and is an unsafe practice.

Police also stress children should never be left unattended in a car -- not even for a few minutes.

The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT)
November 23, 1998

One dead after boys play with fire in van

WEST VALLEY CITY -- A 9-year-old boy died Sunday after he was trapped in a van that caught fire while he and two other children played with matches and a candle.

Sammy McDaniel couldn't escape the fire, although his 10-year-old brother, Troy, and a neighborhood friend did, West Valley Fire Capt. Oliver Moore said. The two boys apparently escaped out the back door of the van and ran for help just after 6 p.m.

The van was parked in the driveway at 1485 W. Russett Ave. (2830 South), the home of LeMar and Rhonda McDaniel, Sammy's parents. The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and the windows had shattered, Moore said. Sammy became the ninth child in Utah to die since Aug. 7 due to playing in a parked car. Tragically, he is the seventh victim from West Valley City. Five young girls perished Aug. 7 after they were trapped in the trunk of a car and suffocated. Not long after, Dylan Bjorkman died in his parents' car the same way -- trapped with little air and rising summer temperatures.

Later that same month, MiCala Anderson, 3, died in Moab from a fire that consumed a parked car. In a bizarre accident last August, a 3-year-old Centerville boy died in Provo when his head got caught in an open window of the car and he asphyxiated.

Family members of McDaniel thought the van was locked and didn't know the boys were playing there, Janet Harkins, a cousin, said.

A neighbor, Russell Jones, grabbed a garden hose to try to put out the fire and tried to break a window to rescue Sammy but was unsuccessful.

Moore said the fire burned "very, very hot and very fast" in part because of the plastics, carpets and upholstery materials inside the vehicle. Some kind of accelerant, possible a can of gasoline, may have also been in the van, he said.

Troy McDaniel and his friend told family members that a flash of fire shot over their heads. Both boys had singed hair but were not hospitalized, Moore said.

Reports that Sammy's foot was caught between the seats, preventing him from escaping the blaze, are not substantiated, Moore said. Firefighters didn't find the boy's body pinned in the van, he said, but the quickness of the fire's burn could have easily prevented him from finding an escape route.

Harkins is trying to establish a donation fund for the family through the Red Cross to help pay for Sammy's burial expenses.

“The family is just devastated by this. They don’t have any money. They have no insurance. They’re struggling to make ends meet and they’ll need some help,” Harkins said.

LeMar McDaniels is a stock worker for Saver’s in West Valley, Harkins said. His wife Rhonda doesn’t work outside the home and is raising the McDaniels’ four children, including Troy, Sammy, Toni, 7, and Cody, 2, Harkins said.

She described Sammy as a “spirited” kid, who always had a smile on his face and was a ready helper to his mother and grandparents with household chores.

“He was really fun to be around. He loved to rollerskate and ride his bike. He had lots of friends in the neighborhood,” she said. “He was just a little angel.”

Los Angeles Times
August 19, 1998

FATHER ACCUSED OF LEAVING TODDLER IN CLOSED CAR ON HOT DAY

VAN NUYS

A La Canada Flintridge man whom authorities say left his 2-year-old son alone in a hot car with the windows rolled up while he shopped was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor child endangerment.

The temperature inside the car reached 120 degrees during the 15 to 20 minutes the boy was left alone on Aug. 4 while Neil Arthur Jones was in the Home Depot on Sherman Way, the city attorney's office said.

A passerby noticed the toddler alone in the car and notified a store security guard, who in turn called police and paramedics and paged Jones over the store's public address system. "The kid was crying at the time, reddish in the face and sweaty," said Deputy City Atty. Lisa Kissel.

She said Jones, 51, unlocked the car for paramedics, who gave his son water and wet his face to cool him down. Police did not arrest Jones, but did turn his son over to the county Department of Children and Family Services, Kissel said. He was later returned home, she said.

Kissel said charges were filed against Jones because leaving the child alone for so long in such hot weather was "excessive." He faces up to a year in jail and a $ 1,000 fine, she said.