5-Year-Old Left In Vehicle Without AC For Hours During Excessive Heat Warning: Police

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A mother has been arrested after police say she left her 5-year-old daughter in a locked vehicle that wasn't running Friday, when it felt like 105 degrees outside.

By the time police arrived, the child had been sitting inside the vehicle for several hours while her mom was in a home nearby.

Most of the state fell under an excessive heat warning Friday with temperatures ranging from the upper 90s to near 100 degrees.

The Hyattsville Police Department reported that a good Samaritan called 911 to report the child. They found the little girl in the vehicle in the 3800 block of Oliver Street. A window was cracked enough for police officers to reach in and unlock a door.

The 29-year-old mother from Glen Burnie was arrested and will be criminally charged with neglect of a minor, unattended child left confined in a vehicle and reckless endangerment. Child Protective Services has been notified, per Maryland law, to investigate and determine if the family can benefit from other services, the police department disclosed.

"It’s never OK to leave a young child unattended but it is particularly dangerous to do so in a vehicle when there is a heat advisory. Even with a window partially down, temperatures rise quickly and can become deadly. Children, dependent adults and even pets should simply never be left alone in a vehicle during extreme temperatures," the police department said.