Authorities in Florida are thanking a citizen for her quick action after spotting a young child in the rear of a car during a hot day last week.
According to Fox News, 33-year-old Meagan Burgess left her 8-month-old son in the car seat in the rear of her vehicle on Tuesday afternoon, later telling authorities she forgot the child was still in the vehicle after dropping several other children to stay with a relative.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released a statement indicating that a passerby, Jessica Kaiser, noticed the child trapped inside and opened the door. Her husband reportedly called authorities and said they could not find a guardian.
“There is a baby in a car,” the man told a dispatcher. “We just opened the door, but we don’t know where the people are. The baby is in the car in its car seat. We opened the door to at least get air into the car!”
Authorities arrived and Burgess reportedly returned to the vehicle 24 minutes after the 911 call.
Fortunately, the infant was reported to be in “good health and good spirits” after he was removed.
“We avoided a disaster,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a Twitter video. “Thank the Lord for a good Samaritan named Jessica Kaiser.”
I wanted to publicly thank Jessica Kaiser, who noticed a baby left behind in a vehicle in a hot parking lot yesterday.
Parents and guardians, these young lives depend on YOU to be on the top of your game all the time. pic.twitter.com/OTMeTKh9ga
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) July 18, 2018
“I wanted to publicly thank Jessica Kaiser, who noticed a baby left behind in a vehicle in a hot parking lot yesterday,” he wrote in a caption to the video. “Parents and guardians, these young lives depend on YOU to be on the top of your game all the time.”
Burgess was booked into jail before a judge authorized her release without bond on the condition that she not have contact with her son as the investigation continues.
She appeared distraught in surveillance video upon realizing her child was in the hot car, later describing the scenario as her “worst fear.”
The mother is expected to face charges related to child neglect.
[Featured images: Meagan Burgess, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office video screenshot, Volusia County Corrections]
