Hanover PA mom left toddler alone in car for 15 minutes: police

A Hanover mother has been accused of leaving her 3-year-old son alone in a car for at least 15 minutes over the hot weekend, court records show.

Samantha Ruth O’Brien, 33, of the first block of West Hanover Street has been charged with endangering the welfare of children. She was booked into York County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail, according to online court records.

Hanover police responded Sunday afternoon to a report of a child left alone in a black Honda sedan parked in an alley behind a home. Officers found the vehicle in direct sunlight and the toddler was buckled in his car seat, court records show. Two doors of the car were open.

The temperature on Sunday afternoon was in the 80s and police allege the child was left alone in the car for at least 15 minutes before police arrived, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The person who called 911 reported that she had tried unsuccessfully to page the child’s parent from the home, the affidavit said.

Officers found O’Brien asleep on the bathroom floor in the home, the affidavit said. She was taken for medical examination, which revealed she was intoxicated, police claim.

“She did not ask about her child until police told her the child had been left alone in the car,” the affidavit said.

Police allege the mother placed the toddler in danger of death or serious bodily harm, the affidavit said.

Hanover police did not return a message requesting additional comment.

How quickly a car can heat up in warmer temperatures

Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit organization, held a press conference Thursday — the first day of summer — to draw attention to hot car deaths and efforts to prevent them. It contained onsies in memory of the 1,086 children who died in hot cars since 1990.

In addition to the deaths, the organization has documented at least 7,500 children who were “rescued in the nick of time,” but many suffered lifelong injuries, president and founder Janette Fennell said during the event shared on Facebook Live.

The organization has called on the federal government to require automakers to put occupant detection technology in vehicles to prevent car fatalities, according to a news release.

The reminder about hot car safety comes as south-central Pennsylvania is in the midst of a prolonged heat wave.

If a car is sealed on an 80-degree day, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach 123 degrees within 60 minutes, says Barry Lambert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Many factors come into play, such as the color of the car’s interior, the tint of the windows, the humidity, the angle of the sun and more.

Kids and Cars says children have died from heatstroke, even when the temperature outside is only 60 degrees.