Hanover PA Mom Left Child Alone in Car for 15 Minutes: Police

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

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

Hanover police responded Sunday afternoon to a report of a child left alone inside a black Honda sedan parked in a driveway behind a home. Officers found the vehicle sitting in direct sunlight and the child locked in the car seat, court records show. Two of the car doors were open.

The temperature Sunday afternoon was in the 80s, and police say the child was left alone in the car for at least 15 minutes before police arrived, the probable cause statement said.

The 911 caller reported unsuccessfully trying to call the child’s parent from inside the home, the statement said.

Officers found O’Brien asleep on the bathroom floor inside the home, the affidavit said. She was taken for a medical evaluation, which determined she was intoxicated, police say.

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

Police allege the mother placed the child in danger of death or serious bodily injury, the statement said.

Hanover police did not return a message seeking further comment.

How quickly can a car 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 heat deaths and efforts to prevent them. He introduced onsies to represent the 1,086 children who have lost their lives in hot cars since 1990.

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

The organization called on the federal government to require automakers to place occupant detection technology in vehicles to prevent deaths in hot cars, according to a news release.

The hot car safety reminder comes as south-central Pennsylvania is in the midst of an extended heat wave.

If a car is closed on an 80-degree day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach 123 degrees within 60 minutes, said Barry Lambert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Many factors are involved, such as the color of the car’s interior, window tint, humidity level, sun angle and more.

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