Tot Left in Hot Car So Woman Could Attend Book Fair, Deputies Say

A 40-year-old Port Richey woman faces child neglect charges after Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies say they found a 2 ½-year-old girl locked inside her hot car Wednesday evening.

Deputies say Rita Anne Bateza was supposed to be watching the child when she decided to attend a book fair at New Port Richey Elementary School. While Bateza went inside to enjoy the fair, she left the toddler unattended inside the car with the air conditioning off and the windows up, a probable cause affidavit stated.

Bateza, deputies say, went inside the school around 6 p.m. A passerby found the child around 7:30 p.m.

The girl, the report stated, “was dripping wet with sweat. She was crying and upset.”

See Also:

• Watch: Deputy Shows How Hot Cars Can Get
• Dispatcher Hangs Up on Mom With Baby in Hot Car

When deputies located Bateza, she admitted to leaving the girl in the car, the report stated.

This isn’t the first time Bateza has been charged with neglect. In 2009, she was accused of leaving a 9-month-old inside a vehicle for 30 minutes, the report noted.

Bateza was charged with child neglect for the latest incident and was booked into the Land O’ Lakes Jail. She was later released in lieu of $5,000 bond.

While the toddler in Bateza’s vehicle was rescued in time, law enforcement and firefighters across the Bay area are warning residents to take care as the temperatures outside heat up.

“Thirty children died last year from heatstroke in a hot car,” St. Petersburg Fire Rescue warned on its Facebook page. “Zero so far this year. Let’s keep it that way.”

The agency even posted a warning video made by its firefighters and recommends people visit SafeKids.org to learn more about preventing heatstroke.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office

Keep up with what’s happening around town and the state by signing up for your favorite Patch daily newsletter: Bloomingdale-Riverview, Bradenton, Brandon, Carrollwood-Northdale, Clearwater, Dunedin, East Lake, Gulfport, Land O’ Lakes, Largo, Lutz, New Port Richey, New Tampa, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Beaches, Safety Harbor, Sarasota, Seminole Heights, South Tampa-Hyde Park, St. Pete, Tarpon Springs, Temple Terrace, Westchase.