Baby Found In Hot Car, Chandler Mother Arrested

A Chandler woman was booked into jail on Saturday after being accused of leaving her 1-year-old son in a hot car while she was shopping for groceries for more than 40 minutes.

Tempe police say an off-duty first responder discovered the boy crying and sweating profusely inside the vehicle. Lt. Michael Pooley says the outcome could have been tragic had the boy’s cries not been heard.

“Our vehicles get hot very quickly and although summer’s not here quite yet, temperatures are starting to rise and we have to remember that,” Pooley said. “Our children cannot be left in vehicles like that.”

Police say the interior temperature of the vehicle, using a digital infrared thermometer, was measured at 124 degrees and the infant car seat was 113 degrees. The boy was removed from the vehicle, treated at a hospital and released to his father. It’s unclear if his mother, 39-year-old Maria-Theresa Pio, has an attorney.