Unconscious Child Found In Locked Car, Couple Charged: Manatee Sheriff

BRADENTON, FL — A couple was arrested for leaving a 2-year-old boy in a hot car while they shopped Sunday afternoon, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Deputies responded to reports of an unconscious child locked inside the parked car at Walmart, at 2911 53rd Ave. E. in Bradenton, just after 4 p.m.

After finding the car, they saw the toddler lying alone in the backseat. The car was turned off and “the child had redness on (his) face and (was) in possible distress,” the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies broke a window and tried to speak with the boy, “who was still unresponsive and appeared to be overheated,” the agency said.

Firefighters responded to the scene within minutes and carried the child from the car to a fire truck, where he woke up and was responsive to first responders.

He was brought to a local hospital for evaluation and “is expected to be OK,” MCSO said.

The child’s mother, Astrid Garcia Rojas, 36, and stepfather, Yuannel Montes Rojas, 37, were arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse after surveillance video showed the child was left inside the car for about 30 minutes.