Southington Man Charged After Kids Found in Hot Car: Cops

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A real estate agent is in hot water with the law after allegedly leaving children in a hot car while "showing" a house, Southington police said.

At 2:20 p.m. on Aug. 22, Karl Luberda, 38, of Southington, was arrested and charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of leaving children younger than 12 unsupervised.

Luberda was processed and released after posting a $5,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bristol Superior Court on Sept. 4, police said.

Officers were dispatched a residence in the Spring Lake Village development after two people found two girls, ages 4 and 1 1/2, inside a parked vehicle that was locked with rolled up windows and was not running, police said.

One minute prior to police arriving after the 911 calls, Luberda came back to his vehicle, according to a report. He said he is a real estate agent and he was “showing” a house while his children were in the vehicle, according to a report.

Based on witness accounts, the children were inside the vehicle unsupervised for about 20 minutes, police said.

At the time the outside temperature was 84 degrees and the dew point was 69 degrees, according to a report. The children did not appear to be in medical distress and were taken home by their
mother, police said.

Photo Credit: SPD

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