2 Children Rescued from Hot Car as Dad Gambles at Casino: Police

DETROIT, MI — Good Samaritans helped rescue two children from a hot car Monday morning while their father gambled inside the MotorCity Casino, according to media reports.

The children, a 2-year-old boy and a 5-month-old boy, were locked in a car in the MotorCity Casino garage in the 2900 block of Grand River Avenue.

“An observant MotorCity Casino employee noticed the children alone inside the car in our covered parking structure and immediately reported it,” casino spokeswoman Jacci Woods told the Detroit Free Press.

Casino officials called the Detroit Police Department, which took steps to free the children.

• Read More: Hot Car Deaths and What the Auto Industry Is Doing About It

The temperature in Detroit was around 77 degrees at 11:25 a.m. when the children were discovered by the casino employees locked inside a 2011 Ford Focus. They had been in the vehicle for 15 to 30 minutes according to police.

“The windows weren’t cracked or anything and they were locked in the car,” Detroit police Officer Jennifer Moreno told The Detroit News. “Typically, if a vehicle is completely closed, even in the shade, in this weather, the inside of the vehicle can reach up to 120 degrees within 30 minutes.”

On average, 37 children a year die after being left inside hot cars.

It happens quickly — after just minutes in a hot car, a child’s core body temperature rises to 105 degrees and their bodies begin to shut down. It also happens across the socioeconomic spectrum, a sign of America’s busy, fast-paced society. This year, there have been 27 hot-car deaths.

The children’s 25-year-old father was located on the gambling floor of the casino and has been detained. The children were not harmed.

The incident is the latest in a string of reports of children being left in hot cars in Metro Detroit.

On Aug. 17, a tearful Milford woman called police to explain she had forgotten a toddler in her care and left the 2-year-old locked in a hot car for up to an hour while she and her 12-year-old shopped.

A day later and a county away, two children showing signs of heat-related distress — a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old — were rushed from a Fenton apartment complex to Hurley Medical Center after they were left in a hot car for about half an hour.

Police in Fenton say the incident was a tragic accident. The great-grandmother reportedly said she had left the keys in the car while she was securing the boys in their safety seats and the door locked when she closed the door.

In the Milford case, the woman faces possible charges and a child abuse investigation. Police want to know why the mother of five and the toddler’s guardian waited until she had returned home before reporting what had happened, the Detroit Free Press reported. Police are investigating.

In both of those cases, the children recovered.

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