http://thenewsherald.com/stories/04...050424002.shtml

Couple leave baby in car, are arrested

By Jason Alley, The News-Herald
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2005
LINCOLN PARK — A young married couple were arrested last weekend after leaving their 1-year-old daughter alone in their vehicle while they went shopping at Meijer.

A customer saw the baby in the car and notified store personnel who, in turn, called police at about 3:30 p.m. last Sunday. When officers arrived, the girl was sleeping in the back of the car, Police Chief Thomas Karnes said.


With the help of a local towing company, Karnes said, officers were able to quickly unlock the car doors and rescue the little girl.

As the baby was being taken into protective custody, the mother walked out of the store and was arrested for child neglect.

The father didn't come out while officers were there, but was arrested on the same charge that evening when he turned himself in to police.

The 23-year-old mother and the 26-year-old father were released pending a warrant from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Karnes, who refused to identify the Ecorse couple, said formal charges are forthcoming.

He said the parents seemed remorseful.

"Both parents are very upset that this has happened," Karnes said. "They got involved in a conversation in the car and, unfortunately, forgot about their child."

The couple's two other children also have been removed from their custody and placed with relatives per an order of the Michigan's Children's Protective Services Agency, Karnes said.

As summer approaches and outside temperatures begin to soar, Karnes said, people need to remember that leaving a living being locked up in a vehicle isn't a wise choice.

"It's extremely important that people should not be leaving their children alone in their vehicles," he said. "Obviously, it would be very easy for someone to break in and grab them and do god knows what else to them. Just read the papers and you'll see what is going on around the country to kids.

"Not to mention, temperatures rise very quickly inside a parked vehicle. You don't want to leave you pets in there, let alone your child."

Deborah Niedbala, education specialist at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, said it takes mere minutes for the inside of a car to become a deathtrap for a child.

"The heat inside a car rises, whether you crack the window or not," she said. "And in this case, with a 1-year-old, they cannot even defend themselves. We have had children who have been literally baked to death inside a car." Contact Staff Writer Jason Alley at or at 1-734-246-0867.

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amonestar la yocorazo

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What??



Did they seriously say that was thier reason?

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"With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
If there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind"

-pixies

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These folks need to be fitted with helmets. How do you forget your child is with you. Thank goodness the child was fine. They are lucky this wasn't the summertime with a high heat index.

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"I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short sighted, narrow minded hypocrites. All I want is the truth, Just gimme some truth"

- John Lennon

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It is a common nightmare of children to dream their parents moved away and left them behind. Looks like this couple is why children have these nightmares.

Young people have no sense of responsibility anymore. They care only about themselves.

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Collect the Back Tax, put Ms Lulko on the job.
Councilman Mario DiSanto. In your heart, you know he's right.

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Magoo, you are not all high and mighty. Do not chastise the whole younger generation for the faults of some few idiots. Now, what kind of conversation is so importants that they would forget about their child? I can't go 5 minutes without missing my daughter. I'm lost without her when I go up north by myself for the weekend.

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The 1 year old was probably asleep and they didn't want to go in the store and risk waking the child up.. They didn't want a crying kid with them ,whenit woke up . They never said who was watching thier other kids. They have three total. The police did the right thing.

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If pro is the opposite of con? would CONgress be the oppositeof PROgress?

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MINDVTR, you do bring up an interesting point. Where were the other kids. Removing the kids from the home means the authorities felt something was not right.

Robbie, this kind of thing did not happen in my day. Just a few weeks ago we had a baby drown in the bath tub because the father was "chatting on-line" Now we have parents shopping at Meijers while the baby is in the car. Just didn't happen in my day, just did not happen.

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unfortunately it seems it's happening more and more often and I agree with Robbie when you become a parent no matter what your age that should be the most important thing in your life, and for most people it is

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Well, Magoo, all's I can say is this--the idiots doing things like this were brought into this world by idiots, who were brought into this world by idiots. Idiots have this tendency to over-reproduce, so we're being overrun. I can't wait to see what monsters some kids at the high school will have.

Parents like this need to be slapped around. How on Earth do you forget that you brought a baby with you? Surely to God they looked in the backseat and saw the carseat. I don't buy it that parents just "forget" they have their kids with them. Nice cop-out method, though.

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So what are you trying to say? (see my user name!)

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Quid est veritas? Pontius Pilate

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