Mother arrested after children found unresponsive in hot car parked at Walmart

#HotVehicles Are Not #BabySitters   #HeatStrokeKills   #LookBeforeYouLock

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK  –  The Oklahoma City Police Department says a metro mother was arrested on 2 charges of child neglect Sunday afternoon after her children were found unconscious in the backseat of a hot car parked at a local Walmart.

According to the incident report, 39-year-old Elizabeta Babb was arrested at the Walmart Supercenter near I-240 and Santa Fe Ave. after her two 2-year-olds were rescued from a hot vehicle in the parking lot.

Police say Walmart security footage shows Babb entered the store with one of the children at 2:22 p.m. before walking back out with the child at 2:28 p.m., deposits the child back in the car and walks back into the store.

While Babb is inside the store, a witness outside crawled through the open sunroof to unlock the car and retrieve the unresponsive children.

According to the report, when roused, one child began crying while the other remained lethargic.

A Walmart security officer put the children into her security vehicle with the air conditioning running.

That security officer told officers the car was hot to the touch and even burned her while she attempted to retrieve the children.

Meanwhile, security officials inside the store were repeating the vehicle’s tag number over the intercom in efforts to have the vehicle owner walk out, but no one did.

At 2:57 p.m., Babb is seen leaving self-checkout and walking outside where her children were being examined by medics.

“When confronted, Babb stated she was only in the store about five minutes,” said the reporting officer.

DHS and OKCPD determined Babb should be arrested on scene during their investigation.

The children’s father and grandmother were contacted to take the children from the scene after their medical evaluation.

Babb now faces two counts of Child Neglect.