Police are recommending criminal charges after two young kids were left in an overheating vehicle at Tsawwassen Mills early Canada Day weekend.
Delta Police arrived on scene just after 5 p.m. and had to break the windows to free the five- and three-year-old children.
Onlookers had called police after trying but failing to get the five-year-old to unlock the car doors.
“When our officer arrived on scene he discovered the children trapped in the hot vehicle sweating profusely, crying, and with bright red faces,” says police spokersperson Cris Leykauf.
The three-year-old was found strapped into a car seat in the blazing sun, Leykauf added, and was breathing irregularly when he was taken from the car.
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Paramedics took the two kids to hospital where they were treated and then released.
Their father got back to his car about 10 minutes after the kids were rescued.
“Police spoke with the father at length about the dangers of leaving young children in a vehicle on a warm or hot day,” says Leykauf.
“If not for the observant and caring people who were shopping and working at the mall, this might have ended differently.”
The Ministry of Children and Family Development will be investigating.
