Girl, 4, rescued from hot car while mom shopped in Walmart for 30 minutes

Saturday, July 20, 2024 - A young girl was rescued from a hot car while her mother was shopping, Florida police said.

The 4-year-old child was pulled to safety from the SUV in the parking lot of Walmart last Sunday after her mother Anastasiya Motalava was in the megastore for more than 30 minutes, Hollywood police said.

First responders rushed to the scene after a witness heard the girl screaming from a cracked window of the car, which was not running, authorities said, according to NBC 6.

Temperatures hit 90 that day, according to Accuweather.

The youngster was rescued without emergency workers breaking any of the windows.

Bodycam footage obtained by local stations shows a rescuer holding the child in his arms as the car alarm blares and the doors on the passenger’s side are open under the beating sun.

While the child was stranded in the car, Motalava, 34, was seen on surveillance cameras shopping, Hollywood police said.

Police arrested her and initially charged her with child neglect, but the criminal case was dropped Thursday, according to local reports.

Broward County prosecutors said there wasn’t enough evidence to go forward with the case and noted the child wasn’t harmed.

The mother reportedly believed she was in the store for 10-15 minutes, prosecutors said.

“While defendant’s conduct is irresponsible, it does not rise to the egregious level of conduct necessary to show culpable negligence,” Broward Assistant State Attorney Melissa Kelly wrote in the memo, according to NBC 6.

“This was a single isolated incident of what may be deemed poor parental judgment that resulted in defendant’s arrest on Felony Child Neglect charges.”

The parent is expected to receive child safety education.