Bucks Co. mother charged after infant left in hot car with outside temps reaching nearly 90 degrees

QUAKERTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A mother in Bucks County is facing charges after police say she left her infant unattended inside a hot car.

Police say 33-year-old Janelle Loveless is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

On July 5, a group of people called police after discovering the infant inside of the car in the 200 block of West Broad Street in Quakertown.

Cindy Landis remembers that day well.

"It was very, very warm that day," she said while standing in her shop "All Things Bridal."

"There were several police officers and a car out front," Landis recalled of the scene.

Quakertown police say Loveless parked her car near the corner of S. 3rd and Broad streets at 2:22 p.m.

"It was about 92 degrees that day," said Scott McElree, chief of the Quakertown Police Department. "Of course, that's the hottest time of the afternoon."

Police say 23 minutes after the mom parked, a passerby saw the two-month-old baby crying in the back seat of a car where the temperature rose quickly.

"The inside of the car was 117 degrees," said McElree.

The passerby opened the unlocked car door, removed the baby, and brought the infant into a nearby business while calling police.

The mom had been inside a bookstore. A manager there says she was calmly shopping. Police say that calm demeanor changed when she came outside to see police at her car.

"She was upset that this happened. She was very concerned," said McElree.

Loveless, who has two other children, told police she forgot the baby was in the car.

"It's terrible. I never understand how that kind of stuff happens," said Patrick Finnegan, of Quakertown, while holding his toddler niece.

So far this year, 18 children have died in hot cars nationwide. There have been 987 deaths since 1998. More than half of those deaths were children under two years old.

"It can be deadly very quickly," said McElree.

The baby was checked out at a local hospital, determined to be ok, and returned to Loveless.

She's also charged with leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle and driving without a license.

Loveless is out on bail.

Action News reached out to her lawyer but didn't hear back.

On hot days, Quakertown police actually patrol looking for kids in hot cars, but even on days when it's not hot, they say never leave kids or animals in the car alone.