In the summer, temperatures reach triple digit heat, yet some parents continue to leave their children in cars unattended, according to police.
“We get several calls throughout the year of children left in vehicles, usually by the general public concerned about parking lot, in front of people’s houses, and those types of things,” said Daniel Steen, a police officer for Lubbock Police Department.
From 2017 to 2018, there were 16 citations for leaving a child in a vehicle, according to the Lubbock Municipal Court. There were also 8 cases involving the endangerment or abandonment of children in vehicles, according to Lubbock Police.
“Every call is different, every call we go on. The officer has to go out and really investigate the situation. Why was the child left in the vehicle? Where was the guardian? What’s going on? What are the elements outside? Was the child old enough to be left in the vehicle?” said Steen.
Children under the age of seven left in a vehicle for longer than five minutes without supervision of someone 14 years or older, is a crime in Texas, according to the department.
Many parents are told to put important items in teh back of their car, so they do not forget their child is back there, said Mariah Castro, a mother of three kids. However, she was disappointed by this.
“That is one of the most infuriating things I’ve ever heard because what is more important than this little person you brought into this world?” she said.
Steen said it only takes a matter of minutes for the temperature in the car to rise significantly.
“If it goes back to that child left in the parking lot, on that 100 degree day with the vehicle off, that could be a more serious crime which is abandoning or endangering a child, which is a felony,” said Steen.
