A mother was handcuffed and taken into custody after her baby daughter was rescued from a hot car in a Ralphs parking lot in North Hollywood Monday afternoon, according to authorities.
The incident occurred at 1:25 p.m. on a day that's expected to break weather records for high temperatures.
The Nissan Sentra was parked in the grocery store's parking lot at 10900 Magnolia Boulevard, several blocks east of Vineland Avenue (map).
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Brian Humphrey said the car was running with the air conditioner on while the 1-year-old old child's mother ran an errand. He said the A/C system was not cooling the car.
Police Officer Robert Benavidez said that there was "no signs there was working A/C inside that car."
The baby, he said, was "sweating profusely."
Witnesses said that the mother had come out from the car to check on the baby girl several times.
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“When I turn this A/C off in my car for a minute, my car is baking. So, whatever the thought process was, it’s unacceptable," Benavidez said.
It is illegal to leave a child under age 6 in a vehicle in California unless someone 12 or older is there to supervise the youngster.
The woman was in the process of being booked on suspicion of a charge of willful harm to a child, a felony, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's media relations division. She could not be identified until her booking was complete, officials said.
The child was taken to an area hospital in good condition, Humphrey said, adding that temperatures in the region were as high as 107 degrees.
