7-Year-Old Helps Save Toddler Left In Hot Van

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A 7-year-old girl helped avert tragedy by noticing a toddler who was left alone in a hot van in East Windsor and alerting her mother, who then called the police.

On Tuesday, East Windsor police honored a 7-year-old girl and her Mom for their heroic actions the day before.

Police said that the family was returning to their vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and the girl told her mother that a child was alone in a van parked next to theirs and the windows were rolled up.

The mother called 911 and emergency personnel responded and were able to remove a 16-month-old child, who was distressed and sweating profusely. They removed the child from the van and got the toddler medical attention.

Police said that it was over 80 degrees when the girl saw the toddler and around 45 minutes passed before the baby’s mother and uncle returned to the parked van.

The department said “tragedy was averted” because of the 911 call.  The mother and daughter were presented with challenge coins for their actions.

To celebrate East Windsor’s upcoming 250th anniversary as well as the Police Department’s 45 years of service, Chief DeMarco and Deputy Chief Roger Hart designed challenge coins that each officer will have.

Starting from September 1, officers will give out the challenge coins to deserving people who have contributed to the safety of the community or who have helped identify and solve problems to improve the quality of life for all.

However, the department decided to hand out the two coins early “due to the significance of the Walmart incident.” 

Officers only have a limited number of challenge coins and officers will be handing them out soon.