A 34-year-old mother was in jail Sunday after police say she left her two children in an unattended, hot car while she shopped at a Hiram Wal-Mart.
Parking lot surveillance cameras told police Ashley Lee parked her blue Hyundai Sonata at 12:35 p.m. and left two young girls in the car.
Witnesses called 911 when they saw the windows were rolled up and the car was not running, Hiram police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Johnson said Sunday.
The temperature was 81 degrees.
“Studies show that temperatures inside locked, hot cars rise quickly,” Johnson said.
He said if it is 95 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car rises to 114 within 10 minutes.
Two girls, ages 7 and 4, were sweating profusely when police arrived.
“The children were in obvious distress,” Johnson said. “Sgt. Dunbar was able to talk one of the frightened children into unlocking the door, where he was able to get them out of the hot car.”
Lee walked out of Wal-Mart with a cart full of groceries just after 1 p.m. Her children were released to a family friend and police arrested Lee.
She was booked into the Paulding County Adult Detention Center on two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree.
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