Heroic bystanders rescued three helpless children from a sweltering car in San Antonio, Texas, after their mother left them locked in the vehicle while she went shopping.
On Friday around 2 p.m., a one-month-old baby, a two-year-old baby and a four-year-old baby were rescued from a turned-off car after a passerby found them trapped inside.
The mother, Angela Garza-Amador, parked the car at a shopping center in the 16600 block of Highway 281 when the temperature outside reached 90 degrees. Police estimated they were inside the hot car for about 50 minutes.
A dramatic video shared online showed the moment people jumped into the car and saved young children from imminent danger.
The children were taken to hospital and are expected to make a full recovery, although their current conditions are unclear. Garza-Amador was arrested on three counts of child endangerment.
On Friday around 2 p.m., a one-month-old baby, a two-year-old baby and a four-year-old baby were rescued from a switched-off car after a passerby found them trapped inside. (Pictured: a child crying inside the car)
A one-month-old baby dressed in a long-sleeved onesie was pulled from the backseat of a hot car
Studies show that temperatures inside a car can rise to 104°F in just half an hour on a 70°F day and reach 115°F within an hour. The body’s organs begin to stop functioning at 107F.
The video of the heart-stopping moment begins with a little boy dressed in a red T-shirt and jeans sitting in the front seat of the car and breathing heavily.
The woman who saves him, Pati Valezquez, asks him and his sister if he needs water as she wipes the tears from his face.
The camera then shows a little girl in a striped dress and a ponytail, standing in the back seat near her brother.
The boy continues to cry and tries to catch his breath as the woman says, “It’s okay… it’s okay.”
Two women then approach the car as the woman filming asks, “Is she there?”
“No, so I can call the police,” one of them replies.
The woman filming shows the child again, visibly flushed and with a red face.
Garza-Amador (pictured) was arrested on three counts of child endangerment.
The mother, Angela Garza-Amador, parked the car at a shopping center in the 16600 block of Highway 281 when the temperature outside reached 90 degrees. Police said they were there for about 50 minutes.
“That’s crazy, and there’s another one back there,” says one woman.
“Here, let’s get those babies out of there,” another says as they move to the back of the car to look for the girl.
The child is pulled out of the car while crying in terror and more people begin to gather around the vehicle.
That’s when they realized there was a baby sitting in the back seat of the car.
The good Samaritan says: “Is there a baby back there? Oh my God!”
She opens the door to reveal the month-old baby as another woman quickly climbs in from the other side and unbuckles the baby, dressed in a long-sleeved onesie, from the car seat.
Bystanders then see the mother emerge from inside the store as the video ends.
It is not clear which store she went to, but Valezquez said the mother left the car running and that her boyfriend was in the car with the children. (Pictured: Garza-Amador handcuffed at the scene)
It’s unclear which store she went to, but according to Valezquez the mother said she left the car running and that her boyfriend was in the car with the children.
“When this happened my heart sank. I’m very shocked,” she said.
‘Her story was that she left the car on, but she took the keys, so I think after a while the car turned off and she didn’t notice.
“What’s wrong is that she tried to cover her story by saying her boyfriend was in the car when no man was ever seen.”
Valezquez also posted a photo of Garza Amador being handcuffed by San Antonio police officers.
She told officers she didn’t realize how long she was in the store.
DailyMail.com has contacted the San Antonio Police Department for comment.
Diana Sofía Alemán Román was found unconscious in the van outside her parents’ home in Santee, San Diego, around 12:20 a.m. on June 13.
Diana’s parents, Romer and Jayson De Los Santos (pictured), brought her home on April 11 after flying to Arizona, where they met the little girl in the hospital for the first time.
A similar incident proved fatal for a newborn baby girl who was left in the back of a hot car just two months after her adoptive parents brought her home as a newborn.
Diana Sofia Aleman Roman was found unconscious in her pickup truck outside her parents’ home in Santee, San Diego, around 12:20 a.m. on June 13.
She had been left in the car for several hours in 63°F temperatures when a family member found her and called 911. The girl was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive.
Diana’s parents, Romer and Jayson De Los Santos, brought her home on April 11 after flying to Arizona, where they met the girl in the hospital for the first time.
Detectives with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office are investigating how Diana was left in the car and who left her there. No charges have been filed.