North Texas

North Texas Mom Accused of Leaving 2-Year-Old Daughter in Hot Car

A North Texas woman was arrested Thursday and charged with child endangerment after police say she left her 2-year-old daughter inside a hot car while she went shopping.

"She left the child in the car in order to go inside and shop for a Father's Day gift," said Lt. Colin Chenault, with the Cedar Hill Police Department.

Police took Chelsea Polk, 25, into custody. Police said she left her daughter alone with the windows barely cracked in the scorching heat.

"The officers were able to determine she was inside for longer than 20 to 25 minutes, some estimates as high as 30 minutes," said Chenault.

Good Samaritans noticed the girl in the car and called police. Officers had to break the window to reach inside the car, all while the girl's mom was shopping at a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Cedar Hill.

"They had to startle the child several times for several seconds in order to wake the child up," said Chenault.

The girl was hot and sweaty after officers removed her from the sweltering car, as temperatures outside the car reached well above the 90 degrees.

"While that may be comfortable to us outside in open air, inside a car, that temperature raises significantly and it becomes very hot very quickly," said Chenault.

The girl was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons, but police say she will be OK.

Attempts to reach Polk’s family for comment were not successful.

 
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Posted by Cedar Hill Police Department on Friday, June 19, 2015
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