‘That’s an eternity’: Parents left kids locked in car that heated up to 125 degrees for 45 minutes as they shopped at Walmart, cops say

Mirianne Pierre and Watson Joseph allegedly left their two young kids alone in a car with no air conditioning while they shopped at an Indiana Walmart. (WXIN/YouTube)

An Indiana couple is behind bars after they allegedly left their two young children in a car with no air conditioning for 45 minutes in the sweltering heat as they browsed around Walmart.

It happened shortly after 7 p.m. Monday in Lawrence, which is just northeast of Indianapolis. A passerby noticed the two kids alone in the turned-off 2017 Ford Edge and called 911, according a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Fire crews responded and opened up the car to rescue the two young children. One child was “sweating profusely from his head and neck” while the other seemed dazed, officers said. Cops arrived at the SUV around the same time of the parents, Mirianne Pierre and Watson Joseph, both 31, who were “confused as to what was going on.”

Pierre reportedly told detectives she was in the store for “a little bit” and Joseph came inside to help her carry some heavy items. She also said the SUV runs for an additional five minutes without the key nearby, according to the affidavit.

Cops checked the surveillance cameras which showed the parents arrive and walk inside the store around 6:27 p.m., meaning about 45 minutes elapsed between the time the couple left the children and first responders arrived, the affidavit said.

Paramedics examined the kids, who seemed fine other then higher blood pressure than typical for kids their age, the affidavit said. Cops arrested Pierre and Joseph on two counts of child neglect and took them to the Marion County Jail where they have since posted bond. The Department of Children Services took custody of the kids.

According to the affidavit, temperatures at the time of the incident were in the mid-90s. A thermal image camera took a temperature of 101 degrees inside the SUV, but that was after three of the four doors had been open for five minutes, cops said. Officers estimated the car temperature was 125 degrees or more while the kids were inside.

“This situation had the best outcome possible,” said Lawrence Police Cpt. Michael Sostre.

As summer heats up, more stories arise of kids left behind in cars. As Law&Crime recently reported , an Arizona mother left her 4-year-old daughter behind in a car when the temperature outside was 110 degrees and went shopping, saying she turned the car off because she feared the girl would drive the car away. Police rescued the girl, gave her some water and put her in an air-conditioned police car. Cops arrested the mother for child abuse .

Not all have a positive end result.

Earlier this month, a 2-month-old baby died after being left in a hot car for hours in the San Diego area. The case remains under investigation.

Even a few minutes in a hot car can feel torturous, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Anthony Patterson told local Fox affiliate WXIN .

“Once those doors are shut the temperatures rise really quickly. So you may feel it’s only a couple minutes, but to the person or child inside the car, that’s an eternity. It gets really hot really fast,” said Patterson.

The post ‘That’s an eternity’: Parents left kids locked in car that heated up to 125 degrees for 45 minutes as they shopped at Walmart, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime .