Posted on 06/08/2005 2:13:01 PM PDT by tuffydoodle
Baby Found In Hot SUV, Mom Arrested Wal-Mart Employee Pulls Child From Vehicle
CEDAR HILL, Texas -- Cedar Hill police are investigating a case of a child being left inside a hot car in the parking lot of a Cedar Hill Wal-Mart.
Lt. Steve Lafferty said a female store employee removed the 2-year-old child from a sport utility vehicle at 621 Uptown Blvd., just south of FM 1382.
"She went inside [the store] … She went back out and checked on the vehicle. The child was still in the car so she removed the child from the car, took [the child] inside and contacted police," he said.
Lafferty also said the SUV reached an internal temperature of more than 100 degrees before the woman rescued the child. The infant may have been in the car for as long as 30 minutes, police said.
Police arrested the child's mother, Tomisha Gist-Terry, who had been driving the SUV.
"The driver's been arrested, at this time, for outstanding warrants. The investigation is still pending," Lafferty said.
Gist-Terry will also likely face charges relating to child-endangerment, police said.
The woman was with two other adults, all of whom went inside the Wal-Mart to shop, the lieutenant said.
The child is in state custody and being treated at Children's Medical Center Dallas, but her condition is not known.
NBC 5 reported that when found, the child was covered with sweat.
Similar Rescue Last week, firefighters had to rescue an infant in a similar situation by breaking a car window.
For more than a half-hour, the child was locked in his car seat inside a car parked near Medical City.
The baby was not seriously hurt.
Dire Consequences In 2003, 10 children died in hot cars across Texas, and state officials are trying to make sure that never happens again.
Last week, they launched the new "Look Before You Leave" campaign to remind parents and others that it is never acceptable to leave children locked inside a vehicle -- regardless of the weather.
Mother Nature beat them to it.
Personal insults don't help. After all, thia ain't DU.
thia = this
lol! not MY /sarc button. the other FReeper.
Are you pfackin chitin me?
100 degrees ain't squat for a brief period. Even with a newborn. If you can't survive in 100 degrees in Texas you die. I think leaving the child unattended in a car is worse than the Texas heat! JMO
Any bets that the mother couldn't believe she was being arrested and called the cops all kinds of foul and obnoxious names?
I can't believe someone hasn't yet said, "IT'S WAL-MART'S FAULT !!".../sarc
Prayers for the child.
I guess it's like this, if your going to be longer than a minute or two and you can actually eyeball your kid, they need to go in with you.
I may be too stupid to have children, and I may not deserve to breathe, but I am smart enough to read before running my mouth. If you were my dog I would smack you on the nose with a rolled up newspaper and tell you to "Sit!"
Don't they teach this in driver's ed? They should post some sort of WARNING signs during the summer at the entrances to Malls and Supermarkets. And there is a need to make it clear in public consciousness that leaving a child unattended in a car during summer weather is criminal.
Not in this story, but it was a customer in the parking lot that made the discovery. That person was worried about breaking into the vehicle or touching the child. The employee walked by whose attention was gained. Both opened the unlocked door and the employee lifted the child out.
I thought it was obliging.
Three adults, and the baby gets left in the car?
I read just fine, sweetie pie. Your version of apparent sarcasm is as fine tuned as your wit. Stick with what you know. If your posting skills are any indication of what you are like in real life, you are also too stupid to own a dog.
Thanks, Mom. I'll try to remember that.
ROTFL. You obviously don't search well on top of everything else.
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