Children Left in Hot Car While Heat Index was 100 Degrees: Police

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst woman was arrested July 23 and charged with child endangerment for reportedly leaving young children alone inside a hot car.

A police officer was called to Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, around 11:18 a.m. for a report of a baby and a young child in a car with the windows rolled up and the car turned off.

The officer found three young children in the car with the windows rolled down and the car's engine not running, according to Elmhurst police.

The front passenger told the officer the car had been parked in a different spot with the windows up, police reported. Dispatch told the officer the current temperature was 89 degrees with a heat index of 100 degrees.

Alicia Freeman-Barnes, 54 of the 400 block of N. Highland in Elmhurst, was found inside Kohl's, and video showed she was inside for about 37 minutes, police reported. Freeman-Barnes was arrested and charging with endangering the life or health of a child, and she was released on bail.