Couple Arrested After Leaving Child In Hot Car In Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, NC — A tip from a concerned citizen led Mooresville police to find a two-year-old child left in a hot car and the arrest of her parents in Mooresville Thursday after they left the child to go inside a business.

“Both the child's mother and father are in custody,” Mooresville Police said in a June 21 statement. “This investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released once more details are available.”

The couple left the child in a car outside the Mooresville Verizon store, according to Spectrum News, which said the child’s mother, 30-year-old Elizabeth Hunt and father, 27-year-old Brandon Ray Burris, have been charged with misdemeanor child abuse.

The interior of the car had a temperature of more than 90 degrees and the child was crying and sweating, the Spectrum report said.

On average, 37 kids a year die of vehicular heat stroke, according to national statistics. Excluding crashes, that's the leading cause of death in vehicles for children 14 years and younger.

Experts say hot-car deaths, which claimed 837 children under age 14 from 1990 to 2017, are entirely preventable. In North Carolina during those same years, 33 infants and children died after being left in hot cars.

SEE ALSO: Hot-Car Deaths: How Many Kids Have Died In NC?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers some tips for parents:

• Look before you lock: Get into the routine of always checking the back seats of your vehicle before you lock it and walk away.
• Leave yourself a gentle reminder: Get in the habit of keeping a stuffed toy or other momento in your child's car seat, then move it to the front seat as a visual reminder when the baby is in the back seat. Or, place your phone, briefcase or purse in the back seat when traveling with your child.
• Get in the practice of routine checks: If someone else is driving your child, or your daily routine has been altered, make a call to make sure the child arrived safely at the destination.
• Keep your keys out of children's reach: Nearly three in 10 heatstroke deaths happen when an unattended child gains access to a vehicle, the NHTSA said.

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