A young Florida mother has been arrested after leaving five children unattended in a hot car while she stepped out to apply for employment.
Betty Brunson, 23, was booked and reported to the Department of Family and Child Services after a “witness alerted police to the kids in the car, which was turned off with the windows rolled down four to six inches,” reports News 4 Jax.
While Brunson’s relationship to the children is unclear, according to DFCS, the children, four of which are younger than 6-years-old, including an infant, belong to three different families. The fifth child is 8-years-old.
“It is just so deeply disturbing,” said spokesman John Harrell, for the Department of Children and Families. “We would think that anybody who had a conscience would be very concerned about this.” He continued.
After checking store surveillance, authorities determined that Brunson had been in the store for 15 minutes.
In Florida, the law states that any parent, legal guardian or other adult who is responsible for a child 6-years-old or younger should not leave the child in a car unattended for longer than 15 minutes while the vehicle is turned off. In the same sentence, no person(s) responsible for said child is to leave them unattended for any period of time while the car is running or if the health of the child is in danger.
Violation of this law is a misdemeanor of the second-degree, guilty of a noncriminal traffic infraction and punishable by a fine no less than $50 and no more than $500.
With all of the publicity surrounding recent cases of leaving children unattended in a vehicle, including one in Atlanta, Georgia, where a toddler died, we imagine that Brunson will be hit with a number of infractions and fines. As for now, police say that the case is still under investigation. – ruthie hawkins/@ruubabie
