One-year-old Kiryat Gat girl left for three hours while father was in court; mother finds child as she picks up the car.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHbaby left in car 248.88(photo credit: Channel 2)
As the hot weather arrives, Magen David Adom again urges parents not to leave infants or young children in the car while going about their business.
On Wednesday, a year-old Kiryat Gat girl was left in the family car for two hours by her father, who then forgot about her.
The mother, who was supposed to pick up the car, returned to it two hours later and found the child unconscious in the back seat. She took the girl to the nearby Magen David Adom station for treatment. The infant was transferred to Ashkelon's Barzilai Medical Center in a mobile intensive care unit. She was reported to be in serious but stable condition.
The father, a social worker who was in the Kiryat Gat Magistrate's Court at the time, collapsed when he heard the news and was rushed to the hospital.
Police were investigating the incident.
MDA said that in the summer, the interior of a car parked in the sun can reach 50 degrees Celsius within 20 minutes, and 60 degrees in 40 minutes. After only a short time in such heat, a child can suffer heatstroke, lose consciousness and stop breathing.
MDA warns that no young child should be left in a vehicle, even briefly.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.
