A mother and her male companion may face criminal charges for leaving a 5-year-old boy inside a locked car with the windows closed for 45 minutes late Thursday afternoon.
"It was 98 degrees outside; we checked," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Southam said. "We have no way of knowing how hot it was in the car. The car was parked in the sunlight."
The sheriff's office was called at 6:48 p.m., shortly after an employee of Thrift Town, 3330 S. 1300 East, walked past the car and noticed a boy lying on a seat. The windows were rolled up and the boy was not moving, Southam said.
It dawned on the employee that he first noticed the car in the parking lot about 45 minutes earlier, and he became concerned about the child's condition. He used the store's loud speaker in an attempt to find the adults who left the boy in the car, Southam said.
Nobody responded because the child's mother and her companion do not speak English. The employee called 911, Southam said.
While waiting for police and paramedics, the employee found a metal bar. He pried one of the car's windows down and unlocked a door. He carried the boy into the store, Southam said.
Deputies and paramedics arrived and began attending to the child. The mother and her companion then noticed the spectacle surrounding their boy. They were surprised to see him inside the store, Southam said.
Paramedics said the boy was dehydrated, lethargic and unresponsive.
The sheriff's office decided not to immediately arrest the mother and her companion.
"The child was already traumatized," Southam said.
Booking the mother into jail and finding someone else to care for him would have added to the trauma, he said. Also, authorities wanted the mother to follow the ambulance transporting her son to Primary Children's Medical Center, where a doctor checked out the child and determined he was in good condition. He was released to his mother around 9:30 p.m., Southam said.
"We felt it was in the best interest of the child to do it that way," Southam said.
However, the mother and her companion are not necessarily off the hook. Next week, the sheriff's office will present the case to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for possible charges of child abuse or neglect.
E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com