(CLARK COUNTY, Wash.) — Heart-stopping video has been released showing the moment a deputy in Clark County, Washington, saved a 2-year-old boy who was left alone in a hot car on a 92-degree day.
Witnesses called 911 in May to report the child in a parked car, and the witnesses tried to create shade around the car as they waited for responders, the Clark County Sheriff’s Department said on Wednesday.
Deputy Ben Hulsey arrived at the scene to find the 2-year-old strapped in his car seat, “sweating heavily, with his head tilted to the side and not responding,” the sheriff’s department said. The car had a small crack in the back window, authorities said.
Hulsey broke a window to rescue the little boy, who was checked by medics, authorities said.
Investigators determined the boy was left alone for about 16 minutes, the sheriff’s department said. When deputies found his parents, they had been inside a nearby grocery store for almost 30 minutes, authorities said.
The parents are facing reckless endangerment charges, the department said.
“Never leave a child or pet alone in a vehicle. Not even for a few minutes,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement Wednesday. “If you see a child or pet left alone in a vehicle and believe they’re in distress, don’t hesitate to call 911. That’s exactly what these community members did.”
At least seven children have died in hot cars so far this year in the U.S., according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org. Last year, at least 37 children died in hot cars across the country, KidsAndCars.org said.
Click here for what to know to keep your children safe.
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