Aurora police arrested a Denver woman Wednesday who they said left her 3-month-old son in her truck while she shopped.
The National Weather Service said the temperature was 95 degrees in Aurora at the time.
Police said Lorena Ramirez, 25, left her child inside the truck for 10 minutes with the windows partially open while she patronized the Wal-Mart at 15000 E. Exposition Road. When officers arrived, “the child was sweating and crying; it was in distress,” said police spokesman Detective Robert Friel.
This is the third time in a week that Aurora police have arrested people on child-abuse charges for leaving a child in a vehicle, Friel said.
“The truth is, these thing happen all the time,” said Sgt. Rudy Jerrera. “People don’t see it, or they don’t call it in.”
He added that if people do see it, they assume that a caregiver will be back in a few minutes. But, he said, heat exposure and the threat of kidnapping are both horrible risks to take.
Officers arrived just after noon Wednesday, moments after receiving a tip, Friel said. Police reached through the vehicle’s window to open the door and retrieved the child.
