Mom left toddler and baby in running car to visit friend in bar, Florida police say
A toddler and a baby were found by themselves in a running car outside a Florida bar as an officer patrolled the parking lot, police say.
Now, their mother is charged.
A police officer was on a routine business patrol outside Penny Annie’s Bar on Oct. 22 when he spotted an SUV parked behind the bar, according to an Oct. 23 release from the West Melbourne Police Department.
The vehicle was running, police said, but when the officer looked into the SUV, there was no one in the driver’s seat and two kids in the back.
Police said a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old were asleep in the backseat as the vehicle sat with the doors unlocked, according to the release.
When police looked for their mom, they said they found her inside the bar.
McClatchy News is not identifying the woman to protect the identity of her children.
The children’s mother, 33, was sitting at the bar visiting with a friend, police said, and she had been there for at least 20 minutes.
“When (the mother) learned law enforcement was outside with her vehicle, she was more concerned about going to jail, than the welfare of her children,” police said in the release.
She was taken into custody and charged with child neglect.
The children were placed in the care of a family member, police said.
West Melbourne is about 70 miles southeast of Orlando.
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