Mother Arrested After 2 Infants Locked In Hot Truck Outside Ontario Walmart
ONTARIO (CBSLA) – A mother was arrested after police said she left her two infant children in a hot pickup truck for more than 30 minutes in the parking lot of a Walmart in Ontario Monday night.
Crystal Gonzales was arrested on felony charges of felony child endangerment after leaving her children, ages 9 months and 1-years-old, alone in her truck, Ontario police said.
At 7:44 p.m., a security guard at the Walmart located at 1333 N. Mountain Ave. called 911 to report that two children were locked in a GMC, Ontario police report. The windows were cracked, police said.But officials remind the temperatures in a car can soar to dangerous levels even if the windows are cracked.
A crowd had formed around the vehicle. CBS2's Jo Kwon said Curtis Owens (viralhog.com) began recording the scene on video.
He said he began filming when he saw the car with its lights on, music playing and the two babies in the back.
Ontario Police Detective Melissa Ramirez said the car didn't have the AC on and it was 90 degrees outside.
Officers and Ontario Fire Department crews responded and pulled the children to safety. Both were evaluated at the scene and did not require transport to a hospital, police said.
Gonzalez was arrested after returning to her vehicle. Police estimate she was in the store for at least 30 minutes. She reportedly told police she didn't want to bring the babies into the store because they were sleeping.
The children were then taken into the custody of California Child Protective Services.