DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Good Samaritans and a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy came to the rescue after a mother realized she had accidentally locked her young son in her car at a gas station in Deerfield Beach.
A quick trip to the 7-Eleven on Southwest 10th Street on Wednesday afternoon turned into some frantic moments for the mother.
Fortunately, George Tardi witnessed the distressing situation unfold.
“She was getting out to pump her gas, and when she got out, the auto locks automatically closed the car,” he said. “Her phone, her keys, everything [was inside].”
Tardi said it took her a moment to realize what had happened.
“At first she was getting ready to walk inside; then she noticed that she didn’t have her stuff,” he said. “She turned around, and the locks had closed.”
Tardi said he spotted the woman’s child inside the vehicle.
“I walked by and seen the baby in the car. She was trying to, you know, get him to get his attention,” he said, “and I just called 911, ’cause every second counts.”
7News cameras captured the moment a BSO deputy approached a woman’s car and smashed the passenger’s side window and opened the door.
The boy’s mother was seen hugging him moments later.
Good Samaritans rushed to the child’s aid and ensured he was OK.
“Luckily, he wasn’t inside too long, and other people helped, too. People from inside the store — all the customers — helped,” said Tardi.
All too often, the heat can prove to be dangerous, with temperatures inside a car able to reach higher numbers than outside.
Those temperatures can prove deadly. According to the organization Kids and Car Safety, there have been at least 22 hot car deaths in the U.S. this year to date.
But tragedy was averted in this case, thanks to several good Samaritans and the BSO deputy’s quick response.
“It was just a scary situation, but thank God nothing bad happened,” said Tardi.
BSO officials confirmed the child was accidentally locked inside the car and was not seriously hurt.
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