A Nebraska woman has been arrested for allegedly leaving her baby in a hot car while she rode a horse, police say.
Cara Dugan, 40, was charged with leaving her three-month-old baby unattended in a vehicle when the outside temperature was between 89 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday.
The Merrick County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to the Merrick County Fairgrounds after a citizen heard the baby crying.
Dugan had allegedly left the baby inside a van with the engine off and the windows partially open for a “considerable amount of time.”
Police said they found Dugan inside a building at the fairgrounds riding a horse and arrested her for child abuse.
Cara Dugan, 40, was accused of leaving her three-month-old baby unattended in a car on a 90-degree day.
Police said she left the baby in a car at the Merrick County Fairgrounds (pictured) and was inside riding a horse when she was arrested.
The baby was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he had not suffered any injuries. The child was placed in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle, according to the National Security Council.
So far in 2024, 27 deaths have been reported and more than 1,000 children have died in such incidents over the past three decades.
Last week, a nine-month-old baby died inside a hot car in Texas after his grandmother left him there for eight hours.
The unidentified baby was found by his grandmother, who was seen by police holding the unconscious child in her arms shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The baby had been left in the car outside the East Flournoy home since 8:30 a.m.
A preliminary investigation determined that “the child’s grandmother had left the child in the backseat of her car in the child safety seat,” according to a statement.
A six-month-old baby was roasted to death in Arizona after being “forgotten” in a hot car for seven hours.
Six-month-old Travis Carter Jr (pictured) roasted to death in Arizona after being “forgotten” in a hot car for seven hours
The baby’s mother, Aleesia Phillips (pictured with her oldest son), asked a teenage neighbor to drop the baby off at her father’s house after she went to work.
Travis Carter Jr. was found unconscious in the backseat outside his neighbor’s home in Cordes Lakes, about 60 miles north of Phoenix, on July 30.
Earlier that day, the baby’s mother, Aleesia Phillips, enlisted the help of a teenage neighbor to drive her to Prescott Valley.
Phillips took Travis with her in the backseat and, after he fell asleep, asked the neighbor to drop the baby off at her father’s house while she went to work.
The neighbor arrived at the home, along with the boy’s father, Travis Carter, around 2 p.m., but did not take them inside.
Instead, they “parked the car in the hot sun and entered their home, claiming they had forgotten the baby in the car,” police said.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office began investigating and arrested the neighbor and charged him with negligent homicide.
