A 55-year-old Calhoun woman has been arrested after she allegedly left a 2-year-old child in a vehicle for more than four hours.

Debra Lane told Calhoun police she dropped off two children at school and did not realize a third child was still in the vehicle, Chief Garry Moss said Tuesday in an emailed statement. It was Lane, police said, who called 911 when she discovered the toddler in the vehicle.

“It appears the caregiver simply forgot the child was in the vehicle and no foul play is suspected,” Lt. Tony Pyle said in the statement.

Still, police who went to the scene on Dan Cherry Drive just before 12:30 p.m. Monday arrested Lane on multiple charges, including one count of cruelty to children in the second degree and reckless conduct. She was taken to the Gordon County Jail.

The toddler, who appeared to be lethargic and dehydrated, was treated at the scene on Dan Cherry Drive by emergency personnel, taken to Gordon Hospital for additional evaluation and released.

The child is expected to make a full recovery.

Calhoun is nearly 70 miles northwest of Atlanta.

About the Author

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman