Woman charged after child allegedly left in vehicle in Toowoomba carpark

Police had to force their way into a car to free a child who was allegedly left unattended in the hot afternoon sun. Here’s what happened.

Police had to force their way into a car to free a child left unattended in a vehicle at a Toowoomba car park before charging a woman over the alleged neglectful act.

Police were called to reports of a child left unattended in a car at a shopping centre carpark on Ruthven St, Toowoomba about 5.20pm on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded the temperature in Toowoomba at the time of the child’s rescue as 29 degree Celcius.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the officer could not find the child’s parents nearby so they immediately forced entry to the car.

Paramedics attended and treated the child before transporting them to Toowoomba Hospital.

A woman, aged in her 30s was located at the scene a short time later and taken into custody.

She has been charged with one count of endangering children by exposure and will appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on February 22.

The incident occurred just two hours after a three-year-old boy was found unresponsive in a hot car in Glenfield, Sydney.

It is understood the boy was left in the car through most of the day and died at the scene.

News.com.au reports the child’s father punched a hole in the window of a Toyota Camry after he found the child unconscious in the back seat.

The boy’s father was taken to Campbelltown Police Station and questioned by police over the incident, but has since been released without charge.

Kidsafe Victoria reports each year about 5000 children are rescued after they are left unattended in cars.

On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 20C to 30C hotter than the outside temperature.

The temperature inside a car can reach dangerous levels quickly; 75 per cent of the temperature rise occurs within the first five minutes of closing and leaving the car.

Large cars heat up just as fast as smaller ones.

Leaving the windows down slightly has little effect on the inside car temperature. Tests conducted by RACQ have shown that when car windows are left open by 10cm, the inside temperature is only 5C cooler than with the windows closed.