Nassau County Police in New York charged a young couple in Flushing with reckless endangerment after authorities said they left their baby locked inside their car in 80 plus degree temperatures, reports CBS New York.
Temperatures inside a car can rise up to 43 degrees hotter than outside, according to the Journal News.
Witnesses began trying to force the car door and window open after spotting the 1-year-old boy.
Police eventually arrived to rescue the child.
“It was two civilians that saw this child, a 1-year-old left in a locked car. It wasn’t running, no air conditioning. It was crucial to the survival of that child,” Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
Video shows the couple at least twice during the one hour the car was parked returning to check on the child.
They have been identified as Jingcai Zhou, 34, and Lu Lu, 28, reported NBC New York. They face charges of child endangerment and reckless offense.
Their son was treated at the hospital and is expected to be OK.
“The baby was left unattended in the hot car for 59 minutes … Their answer was, ‘Well, we checked on him every 25 minutes.’ We all have, most of us have had children. You leave a 1-year-old child alone for 30 seconds, the world changes,” Ryder said.
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