Sheriff's office gets a call from a 4-year-old boy—his heartbreaking tip saved 7 'scared and sweaty' kids
Strong communication skills and knowledge of getting out of difficult situations can be tremendously helpful for young children. One four-year-old ended up saving himself and six other toddlers with his quick thinking after all of them were left inside a car on a hot day. The kid noticed that all of them were scared and sweaty and he happened to find a phone inside the vehicle. He immediately called 911 to report the situation and ended up saving the day, according to CNN.
The seven of them had travelled in the car with a Maryland woman, who was also the mom of two of the children inside the car. The seven kids were from ages two to four and were under the care of the woman when they stopped outside St. Charles Towne Center in Waldorf, per ABC 7 News. The car only had one car seat and was left unlocked when the woman went inside the mall to shop. She had told the kids not to leave the vehicle by themselves and stay put until she came out. However, all of the windows in the car were shut and it was getting hot. The 4-year-old called the police and explained their situation, but pointed out that he didn't know exactly where they were, per CNN.
"Through GPS and other mechanisms, the call-taker was able to pinpoint the location of the vehicle," the Charles County Sheriff’s Office pointed out. The officers found that the car was turned off and the windows were shut. The kids were "scared" and "sweaty." The fire department and emergency medical services checked on the kids immediately after they were found. None of them had to be taken to the hospital for further treatment. The woman was charged with the confinement of children in a vehicle, per the outlet. She came back to the car after the police had been there for 10 minutes. She had been shopping inside for 20 minutes before that, according to the officers on the scene.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide's (a charity organisation) Facebook post from August 2025, 19 kids had died after being left inside a hot car by themselves this year. They explained that it only takes a few minutes for the car to heat up and it can be dangerous if a child is left inside. The page explained that half of these deaths happened after a caregiver unknowingly left the kid inside. They suggested that adults use ACT to prevent such incidents. A was for "Avoid heat strokes by not leaving a kid alone for even a minute." "C: Create reminders! Keep a stuffed animal or other memento in your child’s car seat when it’s empty and move it to the front seat as a visual reminder when your child is in the back seat." "T: Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911."
The sheriff's office pointed out that they were reviewing other charges against the woman. "As a reminder, it is against the law to leave a child under the age of eight unattended inside a motor vehicle if the caregiver is out of sight of the child unless a reliable person at least 13 years old remains with the child. It is also dangerous to leave anyone, including pets, inside a motor vehicle, especially as outside temperatures become warmer. The temperature inside a parked car can quickly rise to extremely high and even fatal levels in a short period of time," the sheriff's office went on.
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