NJ Mom Pleads Not Guilty After Baby-Occupied Minivan Rolls into Traffic

The vehicle with 6-month-old twins inside was in neutral with no keys when it rolled from a parking space, police say

The New Jersey mom arrested after leaving her twin infants in a car that rolled through a parking lot pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Natalie Akselrod said she ran into a CVS Pharmacy Monday afternoon and decided to leave her 6-month-old boys in the car because one was sick and it was pouring rain. 
 
One of her twin sons had been in the emergency room the night before and had not slept in nearly a day.
 
"This was the first time he fell asleep in 22 hours, and I did think, 'Take him out in the pouring rain and put them in the stroller? Or just run in?'" said Akselrod earlier this week.
 
Akselrod decided to run in for a minute. She took her keys with her, but Fair Lawn police said the vehicle was in neutral, and when Akselrod ran inside, the minivan started to roll through the parking lot. 
 
Akselrod was charged with child endangerment and called it a "huge lapse in judgment."
 
A Fair Lawn Municipal Court judge transferred the case to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. 
   
Akselrod is facing a $150,000 fine and 10 years in prison. Her attorney is hoping to have the charges dropped.
 

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