What was supposed to be a quick stop at a massage parlor ended with handcuffs for a Springdale father on Tuesday, after police say he left his two young children in a hot car long enough for one of them to turn red and start sweating heavily.
According to police, the man left a 5-year-old boy and a 6-month-old girl alone in a parked sedan while he went inside a nearby massage business. Officers responding to reports of children in a vehicle found the baby visibly overheated, and both kids were taken to UPMC Children's Hospital for evaluation. The man was arrested outside the massage parlor and is being held in the county jail.
Court paperwork reviewed by KDKA and cited by CBS Pittsburgh states the children were left in the car for about 36 minutes. The windows were cracked only about three inches, and investigators believe the interior temperature climbed past 100 degrees. The 5-year-old was awake when officers arrived, but the 6-month-old was described in the complaint as diaphoretic and possibly unresponsive.
Staff at the massage parlor told police the man had paid for a half-hour massage. According to the complaint, he allegedly told officers he was taking the kids to get ice cream, even though surveillance video reportedly shows he never went near the custard stand, as reported by CBS Pittsburgh.
How quickly a car can turn deadly
Children heat up faster than adults, and a parked car can turn into an oven in just a few minutes. Cracking the windows a couple of inches offers very little protection. National safety campaigns note that vehicle interiors can soar past 100 degrees in a short time on warm days, and that pediatric vehicular heatstroke is a leading non-crash cause of death for children, according to an Ad Council/NHTSA campaign release.
Charges and what they mean
Springdale police say the man, identified in court records as 32-year-old Jerry Rempuszewski, is charged with endangering the welfare of children, leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle, and recklessly endangering another person. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 24, according to court paperwork reported by CBS Pittsburgh.
Under Pennsylvania law, endangering the welfare of children (18 Pa.C.S. §4304) can be charged as a felony if the conduct creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a child under six. Recklessly endangering another person (18 Pa.C.S. §2705) covers reckless actions that put someone in danger of harm.
According to the complaint, the children's mother was notified, and Springdale police did not immediately release further comment. Authorities urge anyone who spots a child alone in a vehicle to call 911 right away. For safety tips and national data on hot-car incidents, visit KidsAndCars.org.
