Kids Left In Hot Car, Falls Church Mother Charged

FALLS CHURCH, VA—As hot weather continues to linger in the area, so do incidents of children left in hot cars. The most recent case happened this week in the Falls Church area.

Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3, Fairfax County Police responded to reports of children in a hot car in the 5600 block of Columbia Pike. Police found three children ages five, six and seven locked in an unattended vehicle in a business center parking lot. The children were suffering from heat exhaustion inside the vehicle, as the temperature rose as high as 150 degrees.

The children were in the vehicle for at least 45 minutes. One child punched a hole through a taped-up window to get air into the car.

The children’s mother brought them to work with her and left them in the car because she did not want to take them inside, police say. Police and Child Protective Services accompanied the mother and children to the hospital for examinations.

Alexa Faulkison, 26, of Falls Church, was charged with three counts of felony cruelty to a child. The children are staying with their stepfather.

Police remind residents to not leave children in the car, especially when it is hot and sunny. Even with the windows slightly open, the temperature in a car on a 93-degree day can soar to 125 degrees in just 20 minutes and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes.

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Here's where the incident happened:

Image via Fairfax County Police