SMYRNA, Ga. — The parents of two small children were arrested for leaving them in a hot car outside a grocery store in Smyrna, authorities said.
According to an incident report from the Smyrna Police Department, officers responded to the Aldi's on Spring Road shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 28.
A concerned shopper asked the manager of the grocery store to come outside. The manager called 911 and told the operator that she was worried for the kids and urged police to hurry up and help the children who were locked inside.
Operator: 911 – What's your emergency?
Caller: I'm at Aldi's... I'm one of the managers on duty right now and a customer just told me that there's two small kids in a Nissan. I just came outside unattended, nobody's in there. The windows are completely up and it's hot.
Arrest warrants state the two kids were inside the car for 20 minutes on an 82-degree day – the car's engine was off.
Firefighters had to break in to rescue the kids. They used a thermometer gun to read the temperature inside the car after all four doors were opened for 20 minutes – they wrote it was 123 degrees inside.
The warrants also state the kids were sweating profusely and lethargic when they were pulled out.
The Smyrna Fire Captain said leaving a child or a pet inside a hot car can be deadly after just 10 minutes. Even if it doesn't feel too hot outside, the inside of a car can heat up very quickly.
Thankfully, these two kids are expected to be OK. The parents of the kids: a 38-year-old and 36-year-old – are now accused of reckless conduct and cruelty to children.