A Long Island dad was arrested Tuesday after allegedly leaving his 2-year-old son in a hot car in a parking lot amid the East Coast’s scorching heat wave.
Keniarold Andre, of Patchogue, is accused of leaving the boy in a Toyota Highlander with the windows only open a few inches in the Walmart parking lot at the Centereach Mall, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
The boy was left unattended for about 20 minutes with the temperature outside approximately 100 degrees, police said.
A passerby called 911 around 1:40 p.m. and reported the boy was asleep in the backseat. Police were able to reach into the window to unlock the door and get the tot out of the car.
The boy’s father returned while officers were providing aid and was arrested at the scene. Andre, 36, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
The 2-year-old was taken Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment and later released to a family member.
“This level of heat is dangerous to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” the National Weather Service warned about the ongoing heat wave on the East Coast.
