Florida woman allegedly left five-year-old son in hot car while shopping at Walmart – The Irish News

A Florida mother reportedly left her five-year-old son in a parked car with no windows down in the hot afternoon sun while she shopped at Walmart for at least 20 minutes.

Martine Louis-Jacques (62) appeared in court on Tuesday. She was charged with child neglect without serious bodily harm, reported NBC 6 South Florida.

Police in Pembroke Pines, where the incident reportedly occurred, said the five-year-old was “frightened and distressed” when he was left in the hot vehicle for about 20 minutes.

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NBC 6 South Florida reported that a passerby in the parking lot of a Walmart store on Pines Boulevard noticed that the child had been left alone in a car with the engine turned off and the windows down.

According to NBC 6 South Florida, the child was reportedly “fistfully banging on the window” to get someone’s attention.

A Walmart employee was alerted to the incident and subsequently instructed the child to unlock the door.

The child then managed to escape from the car.

The police report states that when the boy was brought into the store, he saw his mother walking past the customer service area and “immediately ran to her.”

The mother then allegedly left the store with her child without speaking to Walmart employees.

She was later arrested by police and her bail was set at $3,500.

She has reportedly since been released from prison and has been banned from contacting her son.