Toddler Left Alone Inside Running Car For 30+ Minutes: Ledyard PD

LEDYARD, CT — A Norwich woman is accused of leaving a toddler alone in a vehicle for more than 30 minutes, while she took her newborn child in for an appointment at a local doctor's office, police said.

At 10:11 a.m. on Sept. 13, police responded to the Gales Ferry Pediatrics at 1527 Route 12 for the report of an "unresponsive child locked in a running vehicle," police said.

Upon arrival, police said they witnessed several nurses outside the vehicle banging on the windows.

"Officers observed a toddler strapped into a car seat who was not responding to the banging," police said in a news release. "The mother, later identified as Danielle Gomez, (31 years old, of McKinley Avenue) was unable to be located so officers began smashing the front windows of the vehicle to gain access. Gomez appeared from inside the practice after several moments and unlocked the vehicle. Upon gaining access, it was determined that the 2-year-old child was sleeping."

"Through investigation, it was determined that Gomez had left the sleeping toddler in the vehicle for more than 30 minutes while she took her newborn daughter in for an appointment," police said in a news release.

Gomez was arrested via arrest warrant affidavit and is charged with risk of injury and leaving a child under the age of 12 unsupervised. She was released on a promise to appear in court on Friday.