Mother Under Arrest For Allegedly Leaving Baby In Car
DEERFIELD (CBSMiami) - The mother of a 17-month old boy is under arrest after police say she left him in the car.
Ereka Shardea Thomas, 20, was charged with one count of child neglect without bodily harm after the Broward Sheriff's Office says she left her baby alone in the back seat of a car.
Thomas was booked late Wednesday evening.
Emergency crews responded to a parking lot off of Powerline and Sample Road at around 2 PM Wednesday afternoon when witnesses saw the child and called 9-1-1.
A 17-month old boy, according to BSO, was left inside a running Oldsmobile for 10 to 20 minutes.
The boy was checked out and is doing OK.
But BSO says the circumstances could have killed him.
"Fortunately this didn't end in a tragedy, it could have," said Mike Jachels BSO Fire.
"This thermometer registered almost 100 degrees on dash of car running with air conditioning," said Jachels. "A lot of times babies can overheat very quickly... We've seen cases where children have died in hot cars in a short amount of time.
According to investigators, Thomas told them she stopped to use the restroom..
The boy was found in the car seat, unbuckled, with air was on.
BSO warns that even with the air running, Leaving a child alone is a crime.