Police: mom left baby alone in parked vehicle - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

A mom from Chesterfield is arrested for allegedly leaving her baby boy alone in a parked vehicle at a Walmart.

Angela Case, 31, is now charged with felony child abuse and neglect. The incident happened Wednesday afternoon, at the Walmart on Hancock Village Street in Chesterfield.

Police say the nine-month-old child was in the car for at least 30 minutes. Authorities say that put the infant at serious risk of heat stroke resulting in brain damage or even death, or getting kidnapped. 

Police say a passerby reported the baby in what they describe as a van, at about 4 p.m. At that time of the day, the temperature outside was in the mid-80s, and possibly even hotter inside the vehicle.

"A temperature of 80 degrees (outside) within a 10 to 20 minute timeframe could be as high as 90 to 100 degrees (inside a vehicle)," said John Boatwright, of Chesterfield Fire and EMS.

Boatwright says Chesterfield firefighters respond to about a hundred calls a year for children locked in cars. However, he says the majority of those incidents are accidents.

"Most cases we see are not intentional. It's just an accidental lockout of the child," added Boatwright. He says most of those parents call 911 right away so they can free their baby from the car.

However, police say firefighters had to reach Angela Case's child without her there. Once technicians got hold of the infant, they checked his vital signs. The boy was fine. However, when authorities tracked down Case, they booked her. Police say the child was placed in the custody of his father, who shares the same address as his mother.

NBC 12 confirmed Case's residence on Brandy Oakes Terrace. Neighbors say she has about a half a dozen children which she drives using a large, brown vehicle. No one answered our knock on the door.

For now, Case is out of jail on a $10,000 bond.

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