“break side glass...unlock door...much easier...cheaper to repair...”
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It depends upon where the child is located in the vehicle and your concerns that glass will be scattered possibly into the child’s eyes.
Also, when you are busily getting children out of their car and booster seats, it’s easy for a young child to swing a car door shut before you have removed your keys. I learned the hard way that my car doors lock if the keys are out of the ignition and you shut the doors. If you lay the keys on the seat along with your phone and purse while you remove groceries or children, etc, and the door shuts, you are out of luck.
I do not fault the parents for the locking in of the child. That stuff happens. They immediately realized the problem and with the heat levels right now, they knew they had little time to act. Breaking the front windshield might have been the most expedient thing to do in the circumstances in order to rescue the child safely.
“I learned the hard way that my car doors lock if the keys are out of the ignition and you shut the doors.”
Had that happen to me off the interstate out in the desert when I stopped to water the cactus. Engine was running and I was locked out. Cold so all windows were up.
Used a rock to bash in a rear window (rental thunderbird).
Told the rental desk a truck picked up the rock and hit the window.
“I learned the hard way that my car doors lock if the keys are out of the ignition and you shut the doors. If you lay the keys on the seat along with your phone and purse while you remove groceries or children, etc, and the door shuts, you are out of luck.”
I had that happen on a rental car. Glad I had AAA.