Parents Charged for Leaving Infant in Dangerously Hot Car

MINNEAPOLIS - Parents of an infant were charged with child endangerment and neglect Thursday after he was left alone in a hot car for more than 20 minutes in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

According to Minneapolis police, Angel Garcia-Tapia, 34, and Rosa Perez-Siguencia, 35, left their 6-month-old baby in the car at a CVS pharmacy in northeast Minneapolis on Tuesday. After reviewing CVS security camera, police say the boy was left in the car alone for more that 20 minutes. Police say the car temperature was over 110 degrees.

Witnesses called police after they heard the baby cry. They told police his hair and clothes were soaking wet. The back windows were left halfway open. He was rushed to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and was released to a foster care family on Wednesday. Police say the baby is presumed to be okay, but doctors are unable to identify any long-term damage at this point.

The parents are currently in custody and each face two Gross Misdemeanors for Neglect of a Child and Endangerment of a Child, which hold a combined maximum penalty of two years incarceration and $6,000 in fines. They are also on an immigration hold.

Currently it is illegal in 15 states to leave kids unattended in vehicles.