Video captures San Jose authorities rescuing 2-year-old from hot car

By Ann Rubin

KTVU

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) -- Police and other emergency responders rushed to the rescue of a baby locked in a hot car in San Jose, California -- and now officials are looking into possible charges against the child's mother.

Police say she left her 2-year-old in a car while she went shopping.

The rescue was caught on video: frantic bystanders at the Fallas shopping center watched as San Jose firefighters got to work.

"Our mission was just to get that baby out as soon as possible," said Albert Morales, of the San Jose Police Department.

"But all the doors were locked so that's when we put our tools into action," added Joshua Scheib, a paramedic.

They popped the lock, pulling the sweaty, crying boy from the car, and rushed him to a waiting ambulance.

"You know we had the air conditioner going on," Scheib said. "We tried everything we can just to bring the patient's temperature down."

In cases like this, a matter of minutes could mean the difference between life and death, according to San Jose state professor Jan Null.

"In the first 10 minutes, the temperature rises 19 degrees off whatever the outside air temperature is, so that an 85-, 90-degree day, you're already up into what could be a deadly level for a child," Null said. "The next 10 minutes, it rises another 10 degrees."

On any given 80 degree day, the temperatures hit 99 degrees inside a car in 10 minutes and 109 degrees in 20 minutes.

Firefighters say the temperature Monday afternoon hit 92 degrees where they were, meaning the temperature in the car would have been 121 degrees in 20 minutes.

The mother apparently told detectives she and a second child ran into the store for only a minute.

"Obviously whatever the mother explained to the officers there at the scene and to the detective, all that's going to play into what the DA decides to do with this case," Morales said.

They say the mother could face child neglect charges.

Firefighters are just glad someone thought to call 911. They say it's never okay to leave a child in hot car.

"It is a true blessing to have somebody call at the time because who knows what could have happened," Morales said.

Twenty-six children have died in hot cars so far this year. One of them died today. Firefighters hope that, by talking about what happened, they can prevent other incidents like this in the future.