Sitter Leaves SoCal Boy In 120-Degree Car For Hours: Police

ALHAMBRA, CA — A 6-year-old boy was left in a car for hours in 120-degree heat in Alhambra Monday, and police say his babysitter put his life at risk while she ran errands and ate at a restaurant.

The child is alive today thanks to a passerby who saw him crying and sweating and called police. Police broke into the car and rescued him, and his babysitter 60-year-old, Helen Law of Alhambra, was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment.

Officers responded about 2:20 p.m. to a report from a passerby who saw the child inside a locked car with its windows rolled up in the 700 block of East Valley Boulevard, according to Alhambra police Lt. Eddie Elizalde.

When the officers arrived, the boy was "sweating profusely and crying," Elizalde said.

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"Officers were able to get the car open and render aid to the child," he said. "A temperature reading was taken, showing the interior of the car at 120 degrees."

The boy was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, and authorities have not released an update of his condition.

"While the officers were investigating the whereabouts of the child's parents, they came in contact with a female claiming she was the child's babysitter," Elizalde said.

"It was determined that the babysitter had left the child in the car while she ran errands and ate at a nearby restaurant. Officers were able to establish that the child was left inside the locked car for almost two hours."

Law's bail was set at $100,000, and she is due to appear in court on Thursday.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report; Photo courtesy of the Alhambra Police Department