New York

Mom Arrested After Leaving 4-Month-Old Girl in Car to Go Shopping, Police Say

A pair of good Samaritans bashed a car window open to free a sweltering 4-month-old girl from the backseat, who police say was left in the vehicle, windows up, doors locked, by her mother so she could go shopping.

The baby was left in the backseat of a minivan outside a Kohl's department store in Howell, New Jersey, Monday afternoon while her mother was inside shopping, authorities said.

Steve Eckel and Sara Mazzone heard the baby crying as they walked through the parking lot. 

"I said oh my God there's a baby in the car, we need to do something," Mazzone told NBC 4 New York.

Eckel went and grabbed a sledgehammer from his car, which he used to knock out the van's passenger-side window.  

Inside, the baby was wearing a onesie with wool blanket tucked up to her chest.

"Her head was like a tomato. Her head, fingers and her toes were all red," Eckel said.

"I took the onesie and I soaked it with water," Mazzone said. "And an associate brought a bottle of water to me, and cooled down her feet and her neck and she started to perk up." 

Police and other first responders were called. They tended to the sweltering baby, and took the baby's mother into custody when she returned from the store. 

The woman did not come to door when NBC 4 New York went to her house to ask for comment. 

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