An Orlando mother could face child neglect charges for leaving her two-month old child in a hot vehicle for an hour on Tuesday.
Today, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office filed child neglect charges with the State Attorney’s Office against the mother. Now it’s up the State Attorney to determine whether or not the mother would be charged.
The mother of two took her 9-year-old to Timber Creek Pediatrics at 12001 Avalon Lake Drive, leaving behind in the van her two-year-old, who was sleeping.
She told investigators that she believed the doctor’s appointment with the 9-year-old would be short. But an hour elapsed before the woman returned to the van to remove the 2-month-old baby.
According to the Incident Report, the mother said she remembered the baby when her “breast began to hurt due to her breast-feeding.”
The mother rushed the infant into the pediatric clinic for attention and ice, wrapped in paper towels, was placed on the forehead of the crying baby.
One witness in the clinic told investigators that the baby’s skin was “red and hot.” Another said, it was like a “bright tomato red” in color. The doctor who attended the child said the infant’s clothes were “saturated with sweat and the skin pigmentation was a bright red,” according to the Incident Report.
The infant’s temperature was 101.6 degrees.
The 2-month-old was taken to Nemours Children’s Hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.
The State Attorney will determine whether or not the mother will be charged.
The identity of the mother has not been revealed.
