Cara Dugan, Kearney, Nebraska mother charged with child abuse after leaving 3 month old baby in hot car during 90 Fahrenheit weather while she went horse riding.
A Nebraska woman has been accused of leaving her baby infant in a hot car while she went horse riding over the weekend.
Cara Dugan, 40, of Kearney, according to police left her three-month-old baby unattended in a vehicle when the outside temperature was recorded at 89-90 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday.
The Merrick County Sheriff’s Office according to a Facebook release said they were called to the Merrick County Fairgrounds after a citizen heard the infant crying.
Tragedy averted due to the conscientious actions of citizens
Dugan had allegedly left the baby inside a pickup truck with the engine off and the windows only partially open for a ‘substantial amount of time.’
Police said they found Dugan inside a building at the fairgrounds riding a horse and arrested her for child abuse.
The baby was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined that no injuries were sustained. The child was placed in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Captain Bauer said tragedy was avoided due to the good deed of the citizen and fellow citizens who sought the baby’s well being.
On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle, according to the National Safety Council.
So far in 2024, 27 hot car deaths have been reported and more than 1,000 kids have died in these incidents over the last three decades.
According to No Heat Stroke, 29 children died of vehicular heatstrokes in 2023.
