Mom arrested for leaving toddler in hot car

Police arrested a woman for leaving her son in a hot car outside Wal-Mart in Cedar Hill, just south of Dallas.

Nikellie Warren, 32, was charged with abandoning and endangering her child after police say she left her 2-year-old boy alone in the car around 3 p.m. Monday outside the store on Uptown Boulevard. The car was not running.

Officers give the credit for saving the child’s life to a couple who went to Walmart for some holiday shopping.

Cedar Hill Police Corporal Donald Brackenridge arrived at the Walmart on July 4th and found a group of people around a black Toyota.

Among the group of people next to the minivan were Lee Reed and his wife. Their actions likely saved the baby’s life.

“We heard some faint crying, but we didn’t see any children around,” he explained. “We continued to walk, but we still heard the crying. So we backtracked to the van that was parked next to us, and there was a 2- or 3-year-old boy strapped in the car seat in the third row.”

Reed, a parent himself, called 911 to help save the boy. While waiting for police to arrive, he checked the van and found the doors were unlocked.

“I got in the vehicle, reached over, and was able to unbuckle him, pull him over, and carry him out to the back of the vehicle,” he said.

Reed then gave the boy to fire personal so they could provide treatment.

Paramedics evaluated the child and determined he was okay. They believe he was in the hot car for about 17 minutes when the temperature was 91 degrees outside.

Police say Warren was visiting from Louisiana. She told police she didn’t know the child was in the car.

Warren’s son was turned over to relatives at the scene.