SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — A woman has been arrested on child abuse charges after police say she left her young child alone inside a hot car for over an hour and a half.
South Salt Lake Police were called Wednesday to the parking lot outside the CSL Plasma Center at 2978 South State Street just before 5:30 p.m. after a witness saw an infant, who was less than 1 year old, crying inside the car without the engine running.
Using security video footage, the officer saw the woman, Leinara Tioa, arriving at the plasma center at 3:42 p.m. and leaving her child in the car. Tioa was then seen at 5:23 p.m., returning to the vehicle and checking its rear driver side window, but not opening the car door to let air in.
Just after Tioa returned to the car, the witness told staff at the plasma center to contact emergency personnel after hearing the child crying inside. Seven minutes later, Tioa once again returned to the car and checked on the infant strapped in a car seat.
When medical teams arrived on the scene, they registered the temperature inside the car at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the infant's temperature was 101 degrees.
Upon further inspection of Tioa's car, which was under direct exposure to the sun, it was found that three of its windows were open approximately one inch.
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Tioa was arrested on the Child Abuse charge, as well as Reckless Endangerment, and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
“Even for situations like this, where things did turn out OK for the child, it’s something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” said Lori Cox.
Cox directs the Family Support Center in Salt Lake and says that’s especially true because they offer alternatives.
“Whether it be a doctor’s appointment or they just need a break, they need to go to the store without a 3-year-old yelling,” Cox said.
No matter what the reason, she says the doors to their crisis nurseries are always open.
“Just make an appointment with us and make sure that we have room,” said Cox.
She showed us around the Midvale nursery, which has room for eight children at a time, offering a comfortable child-care option for parents with kids ages 0-11.
These nurseries allow children to stay for up to 72 hours, with specially designed bedrooms and pajama sets ready for both boys and girls.
“You have experienced, trained professionals here ready to take your kids at any time,” Cox said.
Cox says it’s especially important in an emergency.
“Most parents who are at their wits’ end don’t know that there’s a way that they can take a break,” said Cox.
But it’s also meant for situations like the one which unfolded Wednesday — to prevent an emergency altogether.
“We would’ve been a very good place for her to drop off her child, go back and do what she needed to do, then come pick up her child,” Cox said. “It definitely saves lives.”
Cox says they have three locations in the Salt Lake area: in Midvale, in Sugar House and in West Valley City. But she notes there are similar family support services in localities across the state.
She says you can make an appointment by going to familysupportcenter.org
