Man accused of leaving son in hot, parked car
May 20th, 2009 by Ana X. Ceron
Reginald Johnson
PORT ST. LUCIE — The father of a 3-year-old boy was arrested Sunday on a child neglect charge after, police say, he left his son in a parked car for approximately 20 minutes.
Two women told police they heard the boy crying inside a Honda Accord parked at the Sam’s Club on U.S. 1. It was shortly before 2 p.m. and the woman said the boy was sweating and told them he was hot, according to police.
Port St. Lucie resident Reginald Johnson told police he had gone to the discount store with his wife and son.
He said he and the child waited in the car while his wife was shopping. At one point he noticed that the boy was sleeping and said he left the windows slightly open and went inside to use the restroom. He said he had been gone only a few minutes.
But an off-duty sheriff’s deputy estimated the boy had been left in the car for 10 to 15 minutes by the time he pulled into the parking lot and noticed the two women talking to the boy. The women told police the boy had been inside the car for about 15 to 20 minutes before help arrived.
The deputy told police he could see hot air coming from the windows. He said he pulled the boy out of the car after he found an open car door. He said the boy was sweating and was holding a warm bottle of soda.
Tags: child, child neglect, hot vehicle, parked car, Regional Johnson, Sam's Club
Subscribe to TCoastTalk's RSS Feed
Browse the photo galleries here
May 20th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Is it cruel and unusual punishment to require the father to sit in the car for twice as long with no warm soda and the heater running with him dressed in a sweatsuit? To cool him off after his time in the sauna there would be a nice hottub for him to rinse off in. Sounds fair to me. Then jail time!
May 20th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Anyone think perhaps the child wanted to stay asleep rather than being so rudely woken up? Perhaps the child was cold and the good father thought this could be a way to warm him up.
If anything, the father should be commended for looking after his son’s best interests.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I 2nd that Brian!
May 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I don’t agree with any of these. I believe this man is seriously wrong and whether or not should not have left a toddler unsupervised in a car, cold or not. He should be arrested for child neglect.