Police bodycam footage has captured the dramatic rescue of a young child from her mother’s Audi after she was left behind while the mother went shopping. Anastasiya Motalava, 34, was arrested after her child was found in a sweltering hot car in Hollywood, Florida, on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities reported that a witness heard the child screaming for help from a slightly cracked window. Police quickly responded, freeing the child as bystanders gathered around.
This incident is part of a troubling trend of children being left in hot cars, with a recent case in Arizona involving Christopher Scholtes, 37, who now faces murder charges after his daughter died in a similar situation earlier this month.
When Motalava allegedly left her child in the hot car, Florida cops said she failed to leave the engine running to maintain the air conditioning. Fortunately, due to the slightly cracked window, rescuers were able to free the child, aged under five, without smashing the car windows.
Surveillance footage later revealed that Motalava was shopping inside a Walmart for over 30 minutes while her child was left in the car. She was arrested and charged with one count of child neglect.
As temperatures soar across the nation, the risk of children getting left in hot cars and suffering heat-related injuries or death increases. According to NBC Miami, nearly 120 children have died in Florida due to this issue since 1992, with 11 of these deaths occurring this year alone.
In the incident involving Scholtes, he has been charged with murder over the death of his two-year-old daughter Parker. According to Arizona police, Scholtes played his PlayStation for hours after leaving his daughter in a car in 109°F heat.
Scholtes reportedly stated that he left his daughter in her car seat inside the vehicle because he had to pick up a television, as per a criminal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com.
In Motalava’s case, she had left her child in the Honda Acura SUV for an hour and a half after switching the engine off, leading to her arrest.
