Police: Mom left boy in hot car while taking pet to vet

By MEGAN MATTEUCCI

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Deputies say a Cumming woman was concerned enough to take her sick pet to the veterinarian, but left her 22-month-old son alone in a hot SUV.

Dawn Myers, 38, was arrested on charges of cruelty to children.

Deputies were called to a Cumming vet’s office on Thursday for a report of a child unattended inside a Ford Expedition, said Capt. Frank Huggins, spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

“The child was in the car for 30-40 minutes,” Huggins said. “The engine was not running and the windows were rolled up.”

Myers took her two other children inside the vet’s office, but left the baby alone in his car seat, Huggins said.

Paramedics rescued the baby and transported him to Northside Hospital-Forsyth. He was treated and released to relatives, Huggins said.

Deputies said the temperature in the Expedition was around 90 degrees.

Deputies contacted the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services.

Myers is the second mother arrested this summer in Forsyth County for leaving a child alone in a hot car.

Last month, deputies arrested Krystal Whitehead, 25, after she left 5-month-old son a car while she shopped in Cumming, Huggins said. The temperatures inside Whitehead’s car topped 95 degrees, deputies said.