REDLANDS, Calif. (WSVN) — A police officer in southern California is being honored for saving two young children who were locked in a hot car.
Redlands Cpl. Breanna Herrera responded to a shopping center on Saturday as temperatures neared 100 degrees, and found a 3-week-old baby and a 2-year-old inside the car.
The mother, identified as 26-year-old Danielle Sulprizio, told Herrera that her keys were locked inside the vehicle and said the children had not been in the car for that long.
Sulprizio said she was waiting on a relative to bring her a spare key because she didn’t want to break the car’s window.
Witnesses disputed the mother’s claim, telling Herrera the children had been stuck inside the vehicle for at least 15 minutes.
Herrera noticed the children were not moving, and broke a front window to get inside the car, which KTLA reports had reached a temperature of 138 degrees.
Police said she “found a two-year-old boy who was lethargic and in obvious distress and a three-week-old infant who was not moving.”
After rescuing the children from the scorching hot vehicle, Herrera rendered medical aid to the toddler as paramedics attended to the infant. Police said both children were transported to the hospital in stable condition and are now in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Officers arrested Sulprizio and charged her with child endangerment.
Police and city officials honored Herrera for rescuing the young children. It’s also not the first time she has been recognized for life-saving actions. According to KTLA, she was commended for performing CPR on a person who was not breathing in 2015, and rescued a 5-year-old boy from drowning in 2012.
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