Two toddlers were rescued from a steaming hot car parked on a Florida street while their father and grandfather were both passed out in the front seats.
Paul Houle, 51, and Paul Houle III, 22, were arrested last Friday around 1.30pm in Sarasota after a bystander called 911.
They reported seeing a green Nissan Maxima parked directly in the sun with the windows rolled up and no air conditioning running.
The toddlers, aged two and four, were passed out in the backseat and looked sweaty and pale. The Houle men were also unconscious.
Two toddlers were rescued from a steaming hot car parked on a Florida street while their father Paul Houle III, 22, and grandfather Paul Houle, 51, were both passed out in the front seat
Temperatures last Friday in Sarasota reached as high as 92 F.
Witnesses said the family had been in the car for around 30 minutes before police arrived, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Officers discovered two bottles of rum in the car, as well as an open beer.
Authorities said both men were ‘under the influence of alcohol’ when officers arrived on the scene.
A bystander who called 911 reported seeing a green Nissan Maxima (pictured) parked directly in the sun with the windows rolled up and no air conditioning running
The men had ‘trouble standing or walking under their own power’ and even told officers that ‘they did not know what was going on’.
Both children had not been provided with food or water and were suffering from ‘heat-related issues’ when they were rescued, according to the arrest report.
All four were subsequently taken to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The Houle men were later both charged with two counts each of child neglect.
Officers discovered two bottles of rum in the car, as well as an open beer. The toddlers, aged two and four, were found passed out and sweating in the back seat
The toddlers’ grandfather was also charged with possession of a controlled substance after an officer saw him trying to hide a dextroamphetamine pill.
Classified as a Schedule 2 controlled substance, dextroamphetamine is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy but is also used recreationally as an aphrodisiac or euphoriant.
Following treatment, the toddlers were taken into custody of the Department of Children and Families.
Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday.