A mother has been charged after leaving her two babies in a blazing hot car in a Walmart parking lot for at least 30 minutes without the air conditioning running.
Crystal Reyna Gonzalez, 34, was taken into custody outside the Walmart in Ontario, California on Sunday evening after several shoppers called police when they spotted the two infants in the car.
The children, a one-year-old and a nine-month-old, were locked in the white GMC for about 30 minutes as outside temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees.
The children, a one-year-old and a nine-month-old, were found locked in the car for 30 minutes outside a Walmart in Ontario, California on Sunday evening
Curtis Owens, the man to first spot the babies inside the car, said he tried to open the doors before he ran back inside the store to alert staff about the situation.
Crystal Reyna Gonzalez, 34, has been charged with child endangerment after her children were found in the car
He started filming a Facebook Live video as he and a crowd of other shoppers waited anxiously for emergency services to arrive.
‘Oh no. There’s two babies in the car. Wow,’ Owens can be heard saying in the video.
Footage of the incident shows police arriving and inspecting the vehicle before Gonzalez eventually came out of the store about 11 minutes after the video started recording.
She was filmed walking up to her car to find it surrounded by multiple police and fire crews.
Gonzalez opened the car for authorities before being questioned as first responders quickly removed the distressed children from the car.
Footage of the incident shows police arriving and inspecting the vehicle before Gonzalez came out of the store. She was filmed walking up to the car (left) before being arrested
Both children were treated by medics before being turned over to child protective services. One of the babies is pictured above immediately after being rescued
Police said the windows of the car were slightly cracked, the air conditioning wasn’t on and the doors were locked when they arrived.
Both children were treated by medics before being turned over to child protective services.
Gonzalez was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment.
She posted her $100,000 bail and has since been released.
Police said they are still investigating and reviewing Walmart CCTV to determine exactly how long the children were left alone for.
Gonzalez was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. She posted her $100,000 bail and has since been released