A 25-year-old mother in Virginia has been charged by local authorities for leaving her children in a hot vehicle while turning herself in to the police for the same offense.
According to Henrico County Police, Laquanda Newby left her six-year-old and one-year-old sons in the parking lot of the county courthouse as she faced a complaint filed against her by local authorities.
The police said Newby first left her children in a hot car on May 26 while she went to shop at a Sam's Club at White Oak Village. They were called to the scene by concerned citizens who saw the predicament of the two boys.
By the time Newby returned to her car, the authorities had already arrived at the parking lot. They asked her to turn herself in at the Henrico County Courthouse at a later date.
When she did appear at the courthouse, Newby left her sons again inside their car in the middle of the day, with temperatures reaching around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Video footage of the incident captured by a surveillance camera showed the boys staying in their vehicle for around two hours with the windows of the car rolled up.
Several passersby saw the two boys and immediately informed the police. The authorities brought the children inside and gave them some water and snacks before they were eventually picked up by their father.
"Their shirts were wet, sweats rolling off their brows," Capt. David Kinkle of the Henrico County Sheriff's Office said in an interview.
"They seemed to be OK, but it was very hot."
Newby, who initially faced one count of contributing to the delinquency or abuse of a child, was charged with two additional counts. The police said she did not reveal why she had left her two sons in the car.
Newby was subsequently released from jail on Wednesday after paying a $2,000 bond.
In March, a 10-month-old boy in Rolla, Missouri was critically injured in a car fire after his mother left him to buy food at a restaurant.
Gina Coffman, manager of the Papa Murphy pizza store, said the mother of the child came into the restaurant and ordered pizza.
A few minutes later, Coffman heard screaming from outside and saw the same woman come back with a baby in her arms. The child was covered in black soot.
An off-duty paramedic, who was near the scene, immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). She was able to revive the baby boy.
Local authorities launched an investigation on the incident but said the mother could face charges of endangering the welfare of a child.
