Daycare Owner Charged After 5 Children, Including 2 Babies, Rescued From Locked SUV In Port Richmond
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A daycare owner is facing charges after five children, ranging in age from six-months-old to nine-years-old, were found locked inside of an SUV in the Port Richmond section of the city.
Chopper 3 HD was over the scene of the 3700 block of Aramingo Avenue Tuesday morning.
MUST READ: Home Once Owned By Convicted Abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell Target For Vandals
Police say around 11 a.m., a 46-year-old female informed officers that she parked next to a tan SUV and heard children crying. When she looked into the vehicle, she saw five children left unattended, with the vehicle running and the air conditioner on.
She said she alerted security who began paging the vehicle owner over the store intercom. There was no response after 20 minutes.
Shoppers in the lot say they saw everything and many of them called 911 for help because the kids were unattended for at least a half an hour.
Police then went into the store, where they located the female still shopping. She was escorted back to her vehicle and taken into custody.
MUST READ: Woman Injured When Laptop Computer Explodes
Authorities say two babies and three toddlers were taken from the SUV and taken to St. Christopher's Hospital. They were evaluated and released to their parents at the hospital.
Michelle Newmiller says of the incident, "Air conditioning on or off it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it is hot or cold. It's just ridiculous."
READ: Philadelphia's Ban On 'Vaping' In Public Goes Into Effect Today
Police determined that the children were in the temporary care of Karin Thompson, 39, who was running a daycare facility out of her home.
Thompson's neighbors say they have sent their children to her daycare and would still trust her in the future.
Monique Clark says, "This is very unlike her."
Thompson was transported to Special Victims Unit where she charged with five counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and five counts of Reckless Endangering another Person.
You may also be interested in these stories:
