Woman Arrested After Leaving Toddler In Hot Car On Long Island

BALDWIN, NY – A 31-year-old Maryland woman was arrested after she left a 2-year-old boy inside a blistering hot car in a Long Island parking lot Sunday morning, police said.

According to Nassau Police, a 911 call came in at 11:45 a.m. from a person who saw a child alone in a vehicle with the car off and windows closed at 1745 Grand Ave. in Baldwin.

Once on the scene, it took officers about 15 minutes to get into the car and remove the boy, who was "sweating profusely," police said.

Officers then put the child in their air conditioned car while awaiting an ambulance.

Soon after, Digna Argueta Gutierrez returned to her vehicle and was placed under arrest. The toddler was then transported to an area hospital with his father who responded to the scene.

Argueta Gutierrez, of Beltsville, Maryland, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead Monday.

A heat advisory was in effect Sunday morning and the temperature was about 85 degrees when the 911 call came in. Cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures up to 131-172 degrees when outside temperatures are 80-100 degrees, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Just last week, a Roosevelt man was arrested after police say he left his 2-year-old son in a locked car while he was working at Macy's at the Roosevelt Field Mall,

NCPD provided photo