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Police warning parents about dangers of leaving young kids alone in vehicles

Posted at 5:59 PM, Jul 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-26 09:37:18-04

Canton Police are urging parents to heed the warning - do not leave children alone in a vehicle. The warning comes a week after two cases where parents went into stores and left small children outside.

Police say the dangers are not just heat related. Children left alone in vehicles are at risk for kidnappings.

The most recent case involves a 29-year-old woman who left her seven-year-old and two-year-old sons alone in her vehicle while she went into a Meijer store on Ford Road Saturday afternoon.

The vehicle was left running with the air conditioner on, but police say it's illegal to leave a child under six-years-old alone or without the supervision of someone who is 13-years-old or older who is not legally incapacitated.

Another case happened outside the Walmart on Ford Road, where a father left his 8-year-old in the car with an infant. He left the windows cracked and the doors unlocked as he went in to get medication for the baby.

In both cases both parents were given 93 day misdemeanor citation for child neglect.

Police are urging people to take the time to take their children with them.

If a child is hurt, suffers serious harm, or dies after being left alone in a car, the punishment increases all the way up to 15 years in prison.