RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — A woman in Richmond was arrested and charged with criminal abuse after a welfare check led police to find two children inside a hot car that was parked at a Dollar Tree on June 13, a citation read.
According to the citation by the Richmond Police Department, at around 12:35 p.m. on June 13, officers responded to a Dollar Tree in Richmond on a call that a one-year-old was sleeping inside a vehicle with no adult inside, and with the windows down.
Upon arrival, officers found one of the children was screaming inside the car, the citation reported. The mother, identified as 23-year-old Erin Keeney, came out of the store moments later.
An officer on the scene reportedly noted that the current "ambient air temperature" was 84 degrees. Another officer proceeded to turn off his vehicle and, after around 10-13 minutes, he recorded a temperature of 82 degrees in his unit.
Keeney was detained and taken to the police department for questioning. During the interview, the citation read that Keeney told police she "left the car running and the A/C on but also rolled the two front windows down all the way, and the two back windows halfway down" before she went in the store.
Keeney claimed that her vehicle overheats and turns off by itself after it gets too hot. The citation reported that she told police "I feel so bad, I should have made the decision to take them with me."
According to the citation, both the children were in an "unsecure" vehicle and it was off with no A/C running. Police noted that with the windows down, "the children were at risk of kidnap, in a highly traveled area, during the middle of the day."
Keeney was charged with first-degree criminal abuse-child 12 or under.
