PBSO: Mom arrested after leaving toddler in hot car at Mall at Wellington Green

A woman was arrested Monday after Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies found a toddler inside a hot car at The Mall at Wellington Green.

Just after 4 p.m., deputies were called to a white, Nissan 4-door parked at the mall where a child was locked inside. The 2-year-old girl was strapped into her seat in the car's back row, sweating and crying, according to deputies on scene. One of the investigators broke the driver-side window, took the girl out and waited for paramedics to arrive.

The girl had a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit and was treated at the scene, according to the report.

Thamyres Pounce, the child's mother, was discovered to have left her child in the vehicle for 25 minutes while she shopped in Macy's, according to the report.

Florida law states adults are not allowed to leave a child younger than 6 in a car unattended for more than 15 minutes, or if the child appears to be in distress.

Pounce, 32, faces one count of child neglect. She has no previous criminal history and was released on $1,000 bond shortly after being booked into the jail Monday evening, according to court records.

As of April, Florida ranked second in the United States for vehicular heatstroke fatalities between 1990 and 2019, with 97 recorded deaths, according to KidsAndCars, a nonprofit that advocates for child vehicular safety. Number one was Texas with 135.

The advocacy group also notes the numbers are most likely under-counted across the country because there is normally no state data collection systems for these type of deaths.

hwinston@pbpost.com

@hannahwinston

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