A seven-year-old child was rescued from a dangerously hot car in Utah while his mother was allegedly taking a driving test.
The unidentified child was discovered drenched in sweat and acting ‘sluggish’ when officers with the Heber City Police Department entered the Driver’s License Division parking lot on August 4.
Authorities arrived at the scene around 9.04am after a person reported seeing the kid laying in the back of the vehicle, which was locked and turned off for more than an hour.
The officer saved the child, who took his shirt off due to the heat, after realizing the driver’s door was unlocked.
He then told the officer that he was trapped inside for a long time and that he was looking for his mother, Eliana Suaza Argote, 34.
Argote was located by police inside the building soon after her son was examined by paramedics. He was lethargic and had high blood pressure.
The mother told police she did not leave her child for very long, but according to surveillance footage, she entered around 8am and did not come back outside to check on her son for more than 68 minutes, court documents reviewed by ABC4 revealed.
The outside temperature reached 91F that day, meaning it was about 120F in the car.
Dramatic police bodycam footage showed a male officer approaching a silver Chevy sedan with the child inside as he cried.
Once he opened the unlocked door, the officer spoke to the seven-year-old in Spanish, asking how he was doing.
The child’s voice then trembled as he replied to the officer. The cop then adjusted the driver’s seat to gain access to the boy.
The child, dressed in only shorts, then grabbed a long-sleeved striped shirt and put it back on as the officer told him he would get him water.
The cop then walked back to his partner, saying: ‘That car’s hot as hell dude. And the kid’s crying cause he’s hot.’
‘I’m gonna grab him some water,’ the officer said as his female partner went to check on the kid.
‘He said the mom’s in there, probably at the DMV,’ the male officer added as he pointed toward the brown brick building.
The video then cut to the officer opening a bottle of water for the young boy who immediately drank it.
Paramedics were then seen assessing the child, who cops got out of the car and onto nearby grass.
‘So, he’s been in the hot car for at least an hour and 20 minutes,’ the male cop told the paramedic.
‘Oh my gosh,’ the first responder replied as she interacted with the boy.
A phone was left inside the scorching car with the child, who eventually gave officers a family member they could contact about the incident.
Argote has been charged with one count of intentional or knowing child abuse.
She was booked into the Wasatch County Jail but has since been released on bail. Argote due back in court on August 27.
Daily Mail contacted the Heber City Police Department and Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
