A 3-year-old left in a hot car for at least two hours while her mother was donating plasma at a Florida facility was saved by several people who reacted when the woman discovered her child unresponsive in the vehicle.
“It was really something to see because I never thought that I’d see anything like that,” Marc Tait, 40, of DeLand, told WFTV.
According to Volusia County online booking records, La’Tana Monet Williams, 27, of Daytona Beach, was arrested on May 31. She was charged with one count of neglect of a child.
Officers with the DeLand Police Department received a call at approximately 4:32 p.m. ET about an unresponsive child inside a vehicle, WFLA reported.
Tait was inside the parking lot of the Grifols Biomat USA - Plasma Donation Center in DeLand when he saw a woman in a panic, clutching her daughter, according to WFTV.
“I saw her pull the child from the car and run kind of to-and-fro through the parking lot,” Tait told the television station. “And I thought that this looked like the kid was in trouble.”
One woman conducted CPR on the child, who responded to her actions. Tait, meanwhile, poured cold water on the child and called 911, WFTV reported.
According to a news release from the DeLand Police Department, the child was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
According to an arrest affidavit, Williams told police she left her daughter in the car with the air conditioning running while she donated plasma, WFTV reported. She told officers that she remained in contact with the child through a tablet.
According to investigators, Williams denied any wrongdoing. Police disputed her account and arrested her.
DeLand police Capt. Prurince Dice, who responded to the scene, said the child’s outlook appeared positive. He cautioned residents to make sure of the whereabouts of a child when traveling in a vehicle.
“Please take this as a reminder to always check your back seats,” Dice said. “Give yourself enough time when you’re traveling so you’re not in a rush when you arrive at your destination.”
The girl “was pale in the face until the lady started doing CPR and until she started to cool off,” Tait told WFTV. “The baby was completely discolored. It was really, it was sad to see. I thought I was seeing this child die.”
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