1-year-old boy rescued from locked car outside Rockland Costco during extreme heat

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A toddler was saved on Tuesday from a car after being accidentally locked inside during an extreme heat wave outside of Costco in Nanuet, according to the Clarkstown Police Department.

At around 2 p.m., police received a call about a young child who had been locked inside a car when temperatures reached 98 degrees outside the Costco on 50 Overlook Blvd.

An officer responded and was met by the father, who stated his 1-year-old son was locked in his car.

The officer saw the toddler and, unable to determine how long he had been in the car, took immediate action and broke the car’s window.

The toddler was conscious at the time and was removed safely from the car, police said.

The toddler was then quickly taken to Montefiore Nyack Hospital for further evaluation.

Upon further investigation, police found that the toddler had been inside the car for nearly 15 minutes before being rescued. The officer determined that the father had returned to his vehicle to retrieve his wallet. While doing so, he placed the toddler in the backseat while he searched the trunk. The father closed the trunk and quickly realized that he had locked his son inside the car.

After many attempts to gain entry to the vehicle, he ran to get help and then called the police.

“The Clarkstown Police Department would like to remind everyone of the dangers of leaving children or pets in hot vehicles,” police said in a statement. “On warm days, the temperature inside a car can rise by 20 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 minutes, and children can heat up 3 to 5 times faster than adults, making them particularly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.”

According to city data, in 2021, 23 children tragically lost their lives due to heat-related deaths in vehicles in the U.S.

Most recently, a toddler died after being pulled from a hot car outside a New York apartment complex Monday, and authorities are investigating the death of an 8-week-old girl who was left alone in a hot car "for an extended period" by her father Tuesday afternoon in New Jersey.