Police in Louisiana rescued a newborn child from a hot car Thursday, while the child’s allegedly intoxicated mother shopped inside a Walmart store.
According to the Slidell Police Department, officers responded to a report of a visibly impaired woman with an infant in the parking lot of the Northshore Boulevard location.
Upon arrival, however, the woman could not be located, and witnesses told police that she left the premises in a gray Honda Odyssey minivan.
About an hour later, a Walmart employee notified police that the woman – later identified 37-year-old Ashley Kennedy of Minden – had returned to the store but was shopping without the child.
According to police, Kennedy was “highly intoxicated” inside the store, and the baby was found in the parked minivan, covered in a blanket while the air conditioner blew hot air.
The lethargic infant was taken to an area hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Kennedy was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run earlier that same day. In addition to those charges, she also faces cruelty to juveniles and improper child restraint counts, as well as her third driving while intoxicated with child endangerment offense.
“If it was not for the alert Walmart employee and the quick actions of our officers, this incident would have resulted in the death of this young 2-week-old. As terrible of a situation this was, it could have been a lot worse. So many things could have gone differently today, and we thank God for such a positive outcome,” Slidell Chief of Police Randy Fandal said in a prepared statement.
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