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Stacey Butler reportingKiley King: "HOPEFULLY IT WILL HELP PEOPLE TO OPEN THEIR EYES."
A warning for parents after a child is hospitalized after being left in a locked car in the afternoon heat. The five year old boy left inside a car where temperatures reached 130 degrees, is recovering today. Thursday, a man pried his way into the car to save the child. Today, that man shared his story.
Yesterday afternoon it reached 130 degrees inside cars in this parking lot. A five year old boy was left for forty minutes inside a car. He was nearly unconscious when a Thriftown store employee took matters into his own hands.
"HE WASN'T SPEAKING OR ANYTHING, HE SEEMED REALLY DISORIENTED."
In the dead heat of yesterday afternoon, shoppers at a thrift store noticed a five year old boy asleep in a car. Store employees tried to contact the parents over the intercom twice, but there was no response.
Dep. Peggy Faulkner Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "THERE WAS A LANGUAGE BARRIER, THEY WERE SPEAKING ENGLISH AND THESE FOLKS WERE SPANISH."
But then store employee, Kiley King, took out the garbage.
Kiley: "I CAME OUTSIDE AND SOMEONE SAID THAT COUPLE'S KID IS STILL IN THE CAR, I SAID WHERE? WHERE IS HE? THE WINDOW WAS DOWN A LITTLE BIT, I REACHED IN UNLOCKED THE DOOR...THE KID WAS LAYING DOWN SWEATING PRETTY BAD."
Kiley King says the boy was listless and almost unconscious. He carried him inside and tried to cool him down. The store manager called 9-1-1, and the boy was taken by ambulance to Primary Children's Hospital. He is in good shape today, but his parents face criminal charges.
Dep. Peggy Faulkner Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "LOOKS MOST LIKELY LIKE CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD NEGLECT."
Police say there doesn't appear to be a history of abuse, but the Division of Child and Family Services is investigating.
Dep. Peggy Faulkner Salt Lake Co. Sheriff's Dept.: "YOU WOULDN'T LET YOUR CHILD PLAY ON THE SIDEWALK BECAUSE SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN. BUT SOMETHING DEFINITELY COULD HAPPEN IF YOU LEAVE THEM IN A 130 DEGREE CAR."
Kiley: "THESE PEOPLE COME FROM A COUNTRY FURTHER SOUTH, THAT'S USUALLY HOT ALL THE TIME. YOU THINK THEY'D REASON ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS."
The boy was released from Primary Children's Hospital last night in good condition. The District Attorney's Office will screen the case next week.
