Cops arrest NJ dad who left toddler in car on a 100-degree day

☀️ A 2-year-old was left alone in a vehicle parked at Lakewood police headquarters

☀️ A police officer in the parking lot got the child out of the vehicle

☀️ The heat and humidity combined to make it feel like 110 degrees at the time

UPDATE: NJ toddler saved after 24 minutes in 125-degree car. Dad forgot while helping stranger, attorney says

LAKEWOOD — A police officer rescued a toddler left in a vehicle in the parking lot of police headquarters.

A Lakewood police officer was unloading his patrol vehicle around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday when he saw a 2-year-old boy inside the vehicle without the engine running, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.

Using a lockout tool, the officer got into the vehicle and removed the child. The boy was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood and later released.

Police said the child had been in the vehicle for 24 minutes.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said it was 98 degrees at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday at the nearby Howell station of the Rutgers NJ Weather Network. Factor in the humidity, and the heat index was 110.

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Father is charged with a crime

The child's father, Simcha Feldman, 34, of Lakewood, was arrested when he returned to his vehicle. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and held at the Ocean County Jail.

Billhimer did not disclose why Feldman left his son in his vehicle.

Vehicles heat up quickly

It doesn't take much for a vehicle to heat up to dangerous levels. Zarrow says leaving a child or pet in a vehicle on a hot day is one of the most dangerous things you can do.

"The temperature inside a vehicle can rise significantly, especially in direct sunlight, with the majority of the temperature rise occurring within the first 15 to 30 minutes," Zarrow said. "A child's body temperature warms much quicker than an adult. Conditions can quickly turn deadly, so never take a chance. Never leave anyone in a parked car for even short periods of time."

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