Video Shows People Trying to Rescue Toddler in Hot Car

Dramatic video captured on a witness's cellphone shows frantic people in Kansas trying to save a toddler trapped in a hot vehicle.

At around 4:18 p.m. on July 18^th, officers in Merriam, Kansas received a report of a two-year-old child left unattended in a locked car. The local temperature outside was 37 degrees and according to police, the temperature in the vehicle was nearly 40 degrees Celsius. The video shows a woman, local store manager Sarah Oropeza, frantically trying to break the car window to help the child.

Orpoeza’s employee was the first person to notice the toddler in the vehicle, drenched in sweat and crying.

“My heart was beating faster than it has ever beat in my life. Finally a girl with a hitch comes and breaks the window and the child is out. She wasn’t with parents but a babysitter,” recalled Oropeza on Facebook. “I literally broke down in tears in front of everyone because I could not imagine losing my children.”

While working to rescue the child, someone dialed 9-1-1 while Oropeza smashed the window with all her power. The video was uploaded to Facebook and since, it has gone viral. The incident occurred in a shopping centre parking lot. The Merriam Police Department said the child was checked out by medical personnel and deemed okay. Officers spoke with two adults who were watching the child. They said the child was only alone for four minutes.

This case will be reviewed by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office for charging through the district court.