S.C. Deputies Rescue Toddler Left in Hot Car for 90 Minutes

A toddler was rescued from inside a hot car after being left alone for an hour and half, and her mother was arrested, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.

At about 1:30 p.m. on May 27, deputies responded to reports of a child trapped in a vehicle at 2768 Decker Blvd., the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Deputies found an 18-month-old girl locked in a vehicle with the windows up, according to the release.

“The child was visibly in distress, sweating and crying,” the sheriff’s department said.

The deputies broke a window in the vehicle and got the child out before they rendered her aid, according to the release.

Further information on the child’s condition was not available. There was no word if the child suffered heat stroke.

Witnesses told deputies that they saw the driver walk into the plasma donation center around noon, but they did not know there was a child in the vehicle at the time, according to the release. They called 9-1-1 as soon as they saw and heard the child, the sheriff’s department said.

The toddler was reportedly in the car for an hour and a half before help arrived, according to the release.

About 20 miles away at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, temperatures were recorded in the low 80s during that 90 minute span, Weather Underground reported.

But the temperature inside the vehicle was probably much higher, likely closer to 125 degrees, according to the organization Kids and Car Safety. Children have died from heat stroke in cars when outside temperatures were as low as 60 degrees, the group said.

Given a description of the driver, deputies said they went into the facility and found the woman.

Elizabeth Newcomb, 22, admitted to being the driver and acknowledged that she intentionally left her child in the car while making a donation, according to the release. Newcomb was arrested at the scene and charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, the sheriff’s department said.

The toddler was taken into custody by the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

“This case does not involve an absent-minded parent forgetting their child,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in the release. “A mother chose to leave her 18-month-old in a vehicle, unattended in 90-degree weather. Let me be clear, if you chose to make the same choice this mother did, you will be arrested.”

So far this year in the U.S., four children have suffered hot car deaths, according to Kids and Car Safety. None of the deaths happened in South Carolina.

In 2021, three children died in South Carolina from being left in cars, mainly from heat stroke, according to Kids and Car Safety. In 2018, South Carolina led the nation in kids dying from being left in vehicles with six recorded incidents, The State reported.

What to do if you see a child alone in a hot vehicle

Don’t wait for the driver to return. Call 911 right away. The 911 operator can help give you instructions on how to care for the child.
If the child is not responsive or is in distress, immediately:
- Get them out of the car by any means necessary
- Move them to a cooler environment (somewhere with AC or shade if AC is not available)
- Remove child’s clothing to let the heat dissipate from their skin
- Dampen them with cool water or wet rags, immerse in cool water (not in an ice bath)
If the child is responsive and not in distress:
- Stay with them until help arrives
- Ask someone else if they can locate the driver. You might suggest they ask security or a store manager to page them.
SOURCE: kidsandcars.org

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