5-year-old found in hot car while mom shops at Walmart

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 5-year-old boy was rescued from a hot car amid a heat advisory while police said his mom shopped at Walmart for 20 minutes, according to an arrest report.

Authorities said good Samaritans came to the child’s rescue on Monday after 62-year-old Louis-Jacques Martine left her son in the vehicle just before 3 p.m., with the engine off and the windows rolled up.

The arrest report also revealed the boy “appeared to be scared and distraught” and was “frantically” knocking on the glass window to get the attention of customers passing by.

A Walmart employee was notified and instructed the child on how to unlock the door so that he could get out. Once he was taken inside the store, he “immediately ran” up to his mother, who was walking by the customer service section.

Martine was arrested for child neglect without great bodily harm.

She appeared in bond court on Tuesday, where a judge set her bond at $3,500.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.