Two parents in Aventura, Florida, are facing serious charges after a passerby discovered their 2-year-old son left alone in a hot car. The couple, Paola Palencia-Rodriguez, 24, and Melvin Alejandro Jaimes, 25, reportedly went shopping at a local Target and left their child in the vehicle with the windows rolled up, amidst outdoor temperatures in the low 90s, according to Local 10.
The incident, which police say took place on Saturday, was caught on surveillance footage showing the child unattended from 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The toddler was found sweating, awake and crying, and covered in vomit but did not need to be hospitalized. A bystander was to convincingly urge the child to unlock the car, allowing his rescue. Authorities have charged both parents with one count each of child abuse without great bodily harm and leaving a child under the age of 6 unattended in a vehicle, as reported by WSVN.
During their initial court appearance, Judge Mindy Glazer addressed the severity of the situation. "You made a decision to let your child sleep in a hot car. And that child could have died!" she told Palencia-Rodriguez, as quoted by NBC Miami. Both parents, who have been residing in South Florida for four months after living in Spain and crossing the Mexican border into the U.S., were granted supervised visitation rights, with the stipulation that the supervisor cannot be the child’s other parent.
The couple's case has been taken up by the Florida Department of Children and Families for further investigation. During a bond court proceeding, the judge set the bond at $2,500 for each parent and emphasized the gravity of the crime, stating, "You are lucky that you are here and not out there planning a funeral," as Local 10 reported. The child is currently under the care of his grandmother, who during the bond court session, via Zoom, expressed her belief in the good character of the parents and described the incident as a mistake. "They are young and they just made a mistake. Humans make mistakes," she said.
