Police Blotter: Grandmother Leaves Grandchild in Car in Sweltering Heat

Grandma doesn’t always know best.

A potential tragedy was averted when a employee called Avon Police after spotting a small child locked alone in a car in the French Creek Plaza parking lot just before 6:30 p.m. on July 20.

The temperature at the time was in the low 90s, which can heat the inside of a car to well over 100 degrees in just minutes. Even cracking a window doesn't help much, if at all.

According to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, a child's body heats up three times faster than adults. When the body temperature reaches 104, organs can begin shutting down. 

Forty-nine children died from hyperthermia last year.

The child’s grandmother came back to the car and told police she locked the child in the car because it didn’t want to go into a store with her.

She was not charged, but got a stern talking-to from police on her poor decision.

For questions about this blotter, email melissa.hebert@patch.com.