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A little girl in Colorado left in a hot car at Walmart — with interior temperatures exceeding 150 degrees — fought to survive by breaking out a window with a mallet while her grandfather was shopping, cops say.
Eddie Espinoza, 62, is facing child abuse charges in connection with the July 6 incident at a Walmart Neighborhood Market located at 850 E. 88th Avenue in Thornton, according to local ABC affiliate KMGH.
The Thornton Police Department released a photo showing Espinoza's car with the front passenger window smashed after his 7-year-old granddaughter allegedly used a mallet to shatter it and escape.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.Officers were called to the Walmart on a report of a child locked inside a vehicle. While it was approximately 90 degrees outside, firefighters reportedly estimated that temperatures had reached over 150 degrees inside Espinoza's car while he was inside the Walmart shopping.
Police say the child was in the car for at least 20 minutes before she began overheating and used the mallet to escape. Bystanders helped the girl out of the vehicle after she smashed the window and then waited for first responders to arrive, KMGH reports.
The child received treatment for minor injuries from the broken glass while Espinoza was interviewed and taken into custody at the scene. He allegedly admitted to shopping inside the Walmart while his granddaughter was left in the car.
The National Safety Commission reports that there have been at least 12 pediatric vehicular heatstroke (PVH) deaths in the U.S. so far this year. An average of 37 children younger than 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in vehicles, according to the NSC.
The post Man shopped at Walmart while young granddaughter fought to survive in scorching hot car with interior temps exceeding 150 degrees and windows rolled up: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
