Toddlers Left in Hot Car in Fairfax City: Police

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A Fairfax woman is accused of leaving two toddlers in a locked car while she was shopping downtown on Tuesday, according to Fairfax City Police.

Officers responded just after 5 p.m. to the Fair City Mall parking lot at 9652 Main Street. The two 1-year-olds were found in the locked vehicle and left unattended for approximately 12 minutes.

After returning to the car, Melissa Anne Tadokoro, 48, of the 3000 block of Winter Pine Court, Fairfax, was charged with child abuse and neglect.

The children did not require medical treatment, according to police.

The temperature outside was 86 degrees, according to police. Safecar.gov notes even in 70-degree weather, a vehicle can reach life-threatening temperatures quickly; regardless of the outside temperature, the average increase in temperature inside a vehicle is 3.2 degrees per five-minute interval.

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