DeKalb mother accused of leaving 1-year-old in car at Kroger
A DeKalb County woman allegedly left her 1-year-old daughter in the car while she grocery shopped Tuesday evening, according to police.
A woman saw the child strapped in a car seat inside a Hyundai Elantra in the Kroger parking lot on South Hairston Road and alerted an off-duty officer. The officer also saw the child in the car, according to police.
“The toddler was sweating profusely and tears were running down her face,” the police report states. “The vehicle was locked up and all the windows were tightly sealed and rolled up.
As the officer grabbed his baton to break the window, the child’s mother, Georgette Hall, returned to the car. Hall, 24, of Decatur, told the officer she had run in the store for milk, according to police.
The officer estimated the child was in the car at least 25 to 30 minutes based on Hall’s receipt, the report states.
“Please don’t take my baby away,” Hall said, according to police. “I’m so sorry for what I did.”
The mother was arrested and charged with reckless conduct, police said. The child was evaluated by paramedics and released to her aunt.
