Mother arrested after child left in hot car at Legends parking lot

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A mother was arrested in Kansas City, Kansas, after she allegedly left her child alone in a locked car.

FOX4 learned that the child was in the locked car at the Legends Outlets' Target parking lot for 15-20 minutes. The child is going to be okay, according to authorities.

Authorities said someone noticed the child in the car, and that person did what kids and car safety experts say is the right thing to do: they contacted the police.

It was around 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday when the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office got the call.

A deputy was sent to the scene with a lock-out kit. The deputy used the kit to break the car window and get the child out.

While the law enforcement officers were dealing with this, the child's mother came out of the store and was arrested.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation and placed under police protective custody, the sheriff's office told FOX4.

The sheriff's office was assisted by the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department and the Kansas City Kansas Police Department. The incident is being investigated by the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office.

22 kids have died in hot cars this year

The child was okay, but the national advocacy group Kids and Car Safety said 22 kids have died in hot cars so far this year.

Amber Rollins, director of the Johnson County-based group, said in this particular case, the situation was preventable.

"We were just devastated to hear about this poor baby, but also very glad that police responded right away," Rollins told FOX4. "They took swift action and broke that window; that's exactly what needs to happen.

"One thing we want people to know is that you don't have to wait for police to get there. In Kansas, we have what's called a Good Samaritan law. This protects citizens from liability if they break into a car to rescue a baby that's in distress and in grave danger."

She said if you find yourself in a situation where you find a baby alone in a car, it's important to act quickly.

"You can break that window," she said. "Obviously, you want to check and see if the doors are unlocked first. Get that baby out and begin to cool their temperature down immediately."

You also want to make sure that you're breaking the window that's not near the baby—to avoid shattered glass hurting the child.

At this point, it's not clear if the mother will face charges. FOX4 will keep you updated as soon as we know more.