Baby trapped in hot car: Duo rescue break 4-month-old out of car with sledgehammer - TomoNews
- 8 years ago
HOWEL, NEW JERSEY — A 4-month-old baby girl is lucky to be alive this week after she was left alone inside a hot car at a Kohl’s parking lot on Monday.
Police investigators estimate that the unnamed child was inside the car for 40 minutes, reported Fox News. The temperature outside was in the high 80s.
Ex-cop Steve Eckel and Sara Mazzone passed by the vehicle separately in the Kohl’s parking lot when they heard the child crying. They both struggled to open the car door.
That’s when Eckel remembered there was a sledgehammer his car, so he went to get it.
The 53-year-old hammered the window several times before it fell to pieces.
Eckel and Mazzone made sure the kid was alright until police arrived and took her away.
“There's no doubt in my mind the baby would be dead if we didn't do what we did," Eckel told the New York Daily News.
The baby’s mother, Karen Gruen, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and is set to appear in court at a later date.
Police released the child into the custody of her father.
Police investigators estimate that the unnamed child was inside the car for 40 minutes, reported Fox News. The temperature outside was in the high 80s.
Ex-cop Steve Eckel and Sara Mazzone passed by the vehicle separately in the Kohl’s parking lot when they heard the child crying. They both struggled to open the car door.
That’s when Eckel remembered there was a sledgehammer his car, so he went to get it.
The 53-year-old hammered the window several times before it fell to pieces.
Eckel and Mazzone made sure the kid was alright until police arrived and took her away.
“There's no doubt in my mind the baby would be dead if we didn't do what we did," Eckel told the New York Daily News.
The baby’s mother, Karen Gruen, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and is set to appear in court at a later date.
Police released the child into the custody of her father.