LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WFLA) — A Lehigh Acres woman has been charged with child neglect after leaving her two children in a car on one of the hottest days of the year while she was inside a store.
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Lee County deputies responded to a Dollar Tree on Sunday after a concerned witness saw the children unattended in the back seat with all the windows up.
Witnesses estimated the kids were in the car for over 25 minutes. The temperature inside the vehicle was recorded at 100 degrees, even after the doors had been opened for ten minutes. It was around 98 degrees outside on Sunday, and the heat broke records in Tampa Bay.
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Both children were also buckled in and had only a small amount to drink in the car.
“This woman chose to leave her children in a car during one of the hottest days we have had in Southwest Florida this year,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. “Let this serve as a clear message, we will not hesitate to hold people accountable for putting a child’s life at risk. We are grateful these children are okay.”…