Aurora – The mother of an 8-month-old girl who was left alone in a parked car Wednesday night has been charged with child abuse.
Lauryn Tucker of Denver, 21, is alleged to have left her baby alone for more than one hour while she went into the Stampede Mesquite Grill & Dance Emporium, 2430 S. Havana St.
Passers-by found the baby at 10:40 p.m. sleeping in a 1990 Ford Probe parked in a lot in front of the popular dance club. Several people alerted a police officer who had been patrolling the area, police said.
The officer used an ice scraper to unlock a window that had been cracked about 1 inch, Aurora police Detective Robert Friel said.
The baby was not injured, police said. Relatives of Tucker now have the baby, police said.
After the baby was rescued, police used the bar’s public address system to try to find the car’s owner or someone connected with the baby but got no response.
At 11:45 p.m., police said they found Tucker wandering in the parking lot.
“She had left this child in a place of danger,” Detective Robert Friel said. “What kind of person would leave an 8-month-old while she patronized a bar?”
Record-breaking temperatures of 90 degrees or more this week and last have police worried that people will leave their children locked in unattended cars in extremely hot weather.
“Every summer we have cases like this. It’s unfortunate, and all it takes is seconds for death to happen,” Friel said. “It’s a very dangerous situation for children.”
The temperature at Denver International Airport at 10 p.m. was 78 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Tucker was charged with misdemeanor child abuse and taken to Arapahoe County Jail, police said.
She faces up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, police said.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
