Crime & Safety
Woman Who Left 4-Month-Old Baby In Hot Car Is A Teacher: Report
Breaking: The baby was rescued Monday by a man with a sledgehammer and a woman who first heard its screams.
HOWELL, NJ — The woman who left her 4-month-old baby in a hot car at a Howell shopping center is a teacher in the Lakewood School District, according to a report.
New Jersey 101.5 reported Karen B. Gruen, 33, is a speech therapist at Oak Street Elementary School in Lakewood. Data Universe, the public records website maintained by the Asbury Park Press, lists Gruen and says she has worked for the district since 2009.
The Lakewood superintendent's office on Thursday referred calls to the district's attorney, Marc Zitomer. Zitomer was not immediately available to confirm the information, but an assistant in his office said she would relay a message to him.
Find out what's happening in Howellfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Gruen was charged with child endangerment in the incident Monday, when two strangers rescued the baby from the locked car while, according to police, Gruen shopped with two of her other children.
Steve Eckel, 53, of Jackson, smashed the passenger window of the car with a sledgehammer, assisted by Sarah Mazzone, 30, of Howell, who first heard the baby's screams.
Find out what's happening in Howellfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Mazzone, who called into the radio station on Wednesday, said it was clear the baby was in distress.
"She was sweating profusely," Mazzone told the radio station. After Eckel smashed the window, they rushed the baby into the air-conditioned vestibule at Kohl's, closest to where the Nissan Sentra was parked, and cooled her down by wiping her with a shirt they had poured bottled water on.
She told the hosts of the Deminski and Doyle Show that she and Eckel never worried that someone would find it odd they were breaking into the car, they simply responded to what they saw as a crisis situation.
"I know I am very thankful we got her out when we did," Mazzone told the station.
Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick praised the two rescuers on Tuesday.
"I recognize the civilians who took immediate action to rescue this child, for they truly saved a life,” Kudrick said.
You can hear the full interview with NJ 101.5 here.
Photo courtesy of Steve Eckel
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