West Palm Beach father arrested after leaving child in hot car for 30 minutes – NBC 6 South Florida

A West Palm Beach father was sent to jail after leaving his toddler in a hot car on a day when temperatures hovered around 32 degrees.

Raul Fernandez was charged with two counts of child neglect after police said he left his 3-year-old daughter in a hot car for more than 30 minutes.

Bodycam footage shows his exchange with police in which he tells them he’s glad his little girl is OK after explaining he’s going through an immigration process to get his green card.

“The witness who saw the child said she parked the car, saw movement in the back of the SUV, then heard a child crying and then realized there was a three-year-old girl inside,” said Mike Jachles of the West Palm Police Department Beach

At 1:30 in the afternoon Saturday, in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club in West Palm Beach, police said a customer told workers they thought a child had been left in a car.

“They went to the car and when they got there, good Samaritans had already opened the unlocked car and taken the child out,” Jachles said.

Police released surveillance video showing Fernandez entering the wholesale store. Inside the store, police said he could be seen on the phone.

“He shops, he checks out, you see him leaving the store,” Jachles said. “You see him walking into the liquor store for a few more minutes.”

When he goes outside, he notices that there is quite a commotion.

“He said he just forgot she was with him,” Jachles said.

According to police, the little girl was in that car for exactly 31 minutes.

“The temperatures inside a closed vehicle can reach deadly levels after just ten minutes,” said meteorologist Robert Molleda.

The little girl was examined by doctors. As for Dad, he was sent to prison and is now out on bail.