A Commerce City police officer shattered a pickup truck’s passenger window Thursday to pull a sleeping infant from a locked vehicle, getting to the child before the heat inside could turn dangerous. Police said the baby’s mother realized she had locked her keys in the truck and called 911 while the interior temperature hovered around 80 degrees. The child, who was bundled in blankets, was not hurt and was turned over to medics at the scene. Officers said the baby was fine and joked that the mother would probably need longer to calm down from the scare.
According to the Commerce City Police Department, a short video clip shows the officer, identified only as “Officer Victoria,” striking the passenger-side window, reaching in to unlock the door and then lifting the infant out. In the reel posted Thursday, the department notes that the cab was about 80 degrees and that the child was covered in blankets, but “was fine.” The post ends with a public thank-you to Officer Victoria for her quick response.
How the rescue unfolded
Safety officials have long warned about how quickly a parked car can become dangerously hot. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that when the outside temperature is about 70 degrees, a vehicle’s interior can soar past 115°F, and that an average of 37 children die every year from heatstroke in vehicles. NHTSA urges anyone who sees a child alone in a car to call 911 and to try to get the child out when the child appears unresponsive or in distress, even if that means breaking a window. The Commerce City video is essentially that guidance playing out in real time.
Local prevention and resources
In the Denver area, officials have stepped up efforts to prevent hot-car tragedies. Recently, a parking app alert was added to remind drivers to check the back seat for children or pets before leaving the car, and advocacy groups continue to push for broader safety measures, as per Hoodline. Kids and Car Safety maintains a national database of pediatric vehicular heatstroke cases and promotes simple routines, such as always checking the back seat, keeping keys out of children’s reach, and never leaving a child alone in a vehicle, because these deaths are almost always preventable. The Commerce City rescue is a sharp reminder of how quickly things can go wrong and how important it is to act fast…