Parents left 2-year-old child alone in freezing car to go skiing, Vermont police say
Two people are facing criminal charges after police in Vermont say they left their child alone in a freezing car to go skiing.
The Killington Police Department says it received reports of the unattended child on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Killington Resort, which describes itself as a “four-season destination on 3,000 acres in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains.”
The car where the 2-year-old child was left was turned off and Killington Police told McClatchy News it was approximately 28 degrees that day.
Police say they later spotted the parents’ car on a nearby road and stopped them to investigate.
The pair were eventually charged with cruelty to a child, according to a news release.
Police say the driver looked like she was under the influence of alcohol and was also charged with a DUI.
After further investigation, police say both were found to be employees of the Killington Resort. Both accessed the loading lift gates 10 times during that day, police say.
The Killington Resort did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
“They both ultimately admitted their involvement in leaving their child alone in their vehicle while skiing,” police said. “(They) advised they checked on the child immediately after each ‘run’.”
Police say both the Vermont Department of Children and Families and the New York State Department of Child Protective Services have been made aware of the situation.
The parents are scheduled to appear in court at a later unspecified date, according to police.
Earlier this year, a 4-year-old girl had spent about seven hours in a daycare van in Rochester, New York, after a daycare driver left her there “due to a lack of protocol,” as previously reported by McClatchy News.
The girl, Makyia Artis, was only discovered after fellow children at the center were put in the vehicle to go home at the end of Jan. 7, Sara Dunbar, owner of Living Waters Childcare, told McClatchy News. She added that two daycare workers were immediately fired.
The child’s grandmother, Brenda Powell, told WROC that Makyia was in the van for hours and that it was snowing all day.
“The bus seats are leather, and windows had to have been covered in snow, where she couldn’t even see out because it snowed all day long. So she just slept balled up in a ball on a cold leather seat for nine hours,” Powell told the outlet.
Forgotten 4-year-old girl spent hours in daycare van on 24-degree day in NY, owner says
11-year-old home alone for weeks survives on frozen food, Arizona cops say
1-year-old dies in hot car after she isn’t dropped off at daycare, Texas cops say
Teacher left young kids home alone while she took trip out of state, CT police say
