A Louisiana mother was arrested on Monday after authorities say she left her 1-year-old child alone in her car in Kenner, La., on Williams Boulevard, WVUE reported.
The incident occurred on Nov. 27, just after Thanksgiving, when officers with the Kenner Police Department responded after bystanders noticed the child trying to climb out of the car through the sunroof, according to police.
“Had the child made it out of the car through the sunroof, a fall from that height could prove fatal. This is a CRIME. I can’t stress that enough,” Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley told WVUE.
Officers managed to rescue the unharmed child from the vehicle, WVUE reported. The mother, Azreil Rahman, was located at a nearby retail store and arrested on charges of child desertion, according to police.
“Thank you to all the people that called 911 and looked out for the welfare of this baby. Had he made it out of the car, through the sunroof, a fall from that height could prove fatal. There are no words to express the shock and anger over this so we will leave it at that,” said Chief Conley. “This is a CRIME. I can’t stress that enough!” The Kenner Police Department posted this statement on social media.
The child was placed into the care of family members after the mother’s arrest, WVUE reported.
The National Safety Council reports that an average of 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from being left in a car.
“The number of child hot car deaths for 2023 was 29. So far in 2024, 37 deaths have been reported. On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. Nearly every state has experienced at least one death since 1998. In both 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle,” the NSC writes on their website.
In more than half of the fatalities studied, the child was forgotten in the car by a parent or caregiver. Most of these deaths were due to heatstroke, but leaving a child unattended in a vehicle is dangerous even when the weather isn’t hot.