(Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information.)
A DeLand woman was arrested May 31 after police said she left her 3-year-old daughter in a hot car for two hours while giving plasma at a donation center.
Latana Williams, 27, was charged with third-degree child neglect, a felony, according to the DeLand Police Department.
Williams denied any wrongdoing, police said.
In a body camera video of her arrest, Williams told police she would not hurt her child.
“I am a loving mother, I would never do nothing to harm my child,” Williams said as handcuffs were placed on her.
DeLand Police: Bystander found child unresponsive, started CPR
DeLand Police were called around 4:32 p.m. about an unresponsive child in a car in the 300 block of New York Avenue. When DeLand Fire Department and Volusia County Fire Rescue personnel arrived on scene, they found a witness had already started CPR on the child, DeLand spokeswoman Sarah Lux said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Williams left the child in her vehicle for approximately two hours while visiting a nearby plasma donation center, according Lux.
In a June 1 interview with The News-Journal, DeLand Police Capt. Prurince Dice said the child was taken to an Orlando hospital in critical condition. The good news, Dice said, is the child survived.
Child found in hot car in DeLand suffered seizures, 911 caller said
A 911 caller said the incident occurred outside the Grifols Biomat USA Plasma Center on New York Avenue in DeLand.
“There is a little girl who I think was left alone in a hot car,” the caller said to a 911 dispatcher. “We need an ambulance here now.”
The dispatcher asked the caller if the child was breathing and he said the child was going into a seizure.
“She looks like she is having a seizure. She is turning blue,” the caller said to the dispatcher.
As the dispatcher instructed the caller not to give the child water, he again inquired if the child was breathing.
“She’s still breathing. She is foaming at the mouth,” the caller said as the hysterical mother was heard screaming in the background.
Another 911 caller said the child was on the ground and a group of people were fanning her.
Meteorologist: DeLand heat index was 98 when child was found in car
It was a hot day in the city of DeLand when the child was found, according to Kole Fehling, Melbourne National Weather Service meteorologist.
Fehling said June 1 that the high temperature in DeLand May 31 at 4:32 p.m. was 88 degrees with a heat index of 98 degrees.
A Google search shows that on a sunny day with an outside temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit, the interior of a parked car can become dangerously hot within minutes.
Reports have shown infants dying within the first hour of being left alone in a hot car with the engine off, said Amber Rollins, executive director of Kids and Car Safety.
Rollins said Florida has hot days, and parents should be aware of the risk factors when traveling with children.
“There is no safe amount of time for a child to be alone in a car, especially in Florida. It’s just so hot,” Rollins said.
Capt. Dice reminds parents to stay aware during summer months
Dice used the incident to remind the community to exercise vehicle safety, according to the news release.
“Please take this as a reminder to always check your back seats,” Dice said. “Give yourself enough time when you’re traveling so you’re not in a rush when you arrive at your destination.”
Police said Williams was at the hospital and would later be booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail. Dice said Williams was transported to the hospital under circumstances he could not disclose. He did, however, share a detail of what he said he learned of Williams’ stay at the hospital.
“What I have learned is that she was allergic to handcuffs, which I would be too if I was going to jail. That’s all I’ll say about that,” Dice said.
The investigation is ongoing and DeLand Police is asking anyone with information to contact the Department at 386-626-7400.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: ‘She’s turning blue!’ Girl found seizing in hot car, DeLand cops say
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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