A 10-month old baby girl was rescued from a locked car by a "good Samaritan" at a Walmart parking lot on Tucson's south side Friday while the parents were shopping in the store, police said.
The baby was assessed at about 4:30 p.m. by Tucson Fire Department paramedics and was in stable condition, said fire Spokesman Capt. Julian Herrera. The child did not need to be taken to a hospital, Herrera said.
"The baby was crying and sweaty and hot," said Herrera, adding that all were thankful in this instance.
Tucson police officers were speaking with detectives about the incident, which occurred at the Walmart at 1260 E. Tucson Marketplace Boulevard, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a police department spokesman. He said police will notify the state's Department of Child Safety.
The parents, who are from out-of-state visiting family, were not aware that their baby was in the back seat of the car, said Dugan. There was a miscommunication and the parents believed their child was left with family before they left to the Walmart, Dugan said.
"It was a bad accident and the family is very distraught," Dugan said.
At the time of the incident, it was 102 degrees at Tucson International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
Dugan said that shoppers in the parking lot first spotted the child in the back seat of the car and the child appeared to be in distress.
"The shoppers started yelling to store employees, and another good Samaritan walked up to the car and smashed the window and gave the baby to store employees and left," said Dugan.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law that goes into effect Aug. 9 that says a person cannot be sued for breaking a window of a vehicle to rescue children or animals that may be in "imminent danger of suffering physical injury or death."
