With temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees in Dearborn, motorists should be careful about leaving valuables, children, or pets inside their vehicles.
Unfortunately, a month-old baby was left inside an SUV at a gas station after the mother accidentally became locked outside with the keys still inside the SUV.
Despite repeated attempts, the vehicle’s door would not open, prompting the mother to call 911. Footage uploaded on social media shows Dearborn police officers safely breaking the glass to rescue the baby.
The incident highlights the importance of checking that you have your keys before getting out of your vehicle, as you could otherwise become locked out.
A 911 Call Saves The Baby
A video uploaded by TCD News on Instagram shows how officers used a tool to safely break open the SUV’s front passenger window, while the baby’s mother waited for the door to be opened.
On hot days, the temperature inside a parked car can rise by around 20 degrees in just 5 to 10 minutes, quickly becoming dangerous. The officer carefully removed the broken glass before opening the door. Obviously, the SUV’s security alarm went off, but the baby was rescued just in time.
A delay in rescuing the baby could have led to serious health complications because infants are less able to tolerate extreme heat than adults. The video caption states that Dearborn police officers did not wait for rescue crews to arrive.
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The Mother and Police Waited for a Tow Truck Until Officers Broke the Glass
According to a report by WXYZ.com, the incident actually took place on June 8. A clerk named Abe Nahshal revealed that because of the baby and the extreme heat, they wasted no time in calling the police. He said:
“Obviously, there’s a baby inside, and it’s really hot, so we didn’t want to waste any time. We called the cops.”
After the officers arrived, they, along with the baby’s mother, waited for a tow truck operator to unlock the vehicle. However, responding officers felt time was running out, so they decided to break open the window.
Dearborn Police Cpl. Dan Bartok described it as a dangerous situation. He said:
“Our officers responded. They quickly assessed the scene. They determined immediately this was a dangerous situation.
“The officers made some great decisions that day because with the temperature as hot as it was, it could only take minutes for the temperature inside to become deadly.”
“Babies can’t tolerate that level of heat for very long — we’re talking minutes,” he added.
People Sometimes Forget Their Babies in the Car
Dr. Patricia Paz-Arabo said that incidents like this are not uncommon:
“It can be devastating within minutes, especially in the car there’s no running circulation.
“We do see it, sadly. We still see it. Sometimes, infants can be forgotten in the back seat, especially when they fall asleep. Sometimes, it’s inadvertent.”