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Mother Leaves Infant in Car in Parking Lot in 102-Degree Heat
Los Angeles Police Department officers rescued a child who was left unattended by her mother inside a parked car at a Ralphs supermarket in North Hollywood.
With the temperature at 102-degrees, officers were able to access the infant in the unlocked blue Nissan parked at the store in the 10900 block of Magnolia Boulevard, reports City News Service. The Los Angeles Fire Department say the child is a 1-year-old female. They add the baby was in good condition.
"Though air conditioning was reportedly on, it was not cooling vehicle's interior," notes the LAFD in a press alert. "Nevertheless, [it is] against CA law to leave child in vehicle."
A rep for the LAPD says the mother is being booked.
UPDATE 10/2/12: The 26-year-old mother was arrested, according to City News Service. The child had been left inside the Nissan with the windows rolled up, parked in the red zone in front of the grocery store. The vehicle was running, and the air conditioning turned on, but not "cooling the interior of the vehicle," according to a LAFD spokesman. The mother had been seen running outside to check on the child before going back inside the store. An officer told the media of the mother's attitude: "[T]o be honest with you, when we were out there at the scene, she was kind of giving us the impression that she didn't really understand why we were there or what she had done wrong.'' The woman has another child, an elementary school-aged son; both children were expected to be handed over to Child Protective Services.
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