Kansas Mother Arrested: Left 11-Month-Old And 3-Year-Old In Car At The Mall

A woman in Olathe, Kansas was arrested for leaving her two children, 11 months and 3 years, in the car while she went to the mall. Sara Fites, 32, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated endangering of a child.

According to WDAF, the incident happened at Oak Park Mall on Saturday. Sara Fites was booked at 1:42 p.m., but the report does not say why the mother left her children in the car. It was also not revealed how long they were there before someone noticed. What is known is that the temperature was 87 degrees when the children were rescued, according to a police spokesman.

The criminal complaint does not reveal who found the children in the hot car. However, it does list Oak Park Mall and JC Penney personnel as witnesses. It is not known if customers reported it or if employees called the police.

Johnson County MedAct and the Overland Park Fire Department responded to the call. A spokesperson for the Overland Park Police Department said the two young children were checked out and seemed to be okay.

The inside of a vehicle acts as an oven or a greenhouse. Heat Kills explained that with an outdoor temperature of 85 degrees, after only 10 minutes the inside of a car can reach 104 degrees. In 30 minutes, that number rises to 119 degrees. The temperature can continue to escalate, depending on humidity, if the windows are rolled up and other factors.

Jan Null, adjunct professor at San Francisco State University explained that even at cooler temperatures, there is still a risk of heat-related fatalities.

“Children have died in cars with the temperature as low as 63 degrees. Basically, the car becomes a greenhouse. At 70 degrees on a sunny day, after a half hour, the temperature inside a car is 104 degrees. After an hour, it can reach 113 degrees.”

Constable Rowdy Hayden of New Caney, Texas warned on Facebook that children’s bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults. This makes them even more vulnerable to injury and death.

https://www.facebook.com/constablerowdyhayden/posts/914370305335363

According to HeatStroke.org, so far this year, 23 children have died from heatstroke. From 1998 to October 2016, approximately 700 children have suffered from vehicular heatstroke deaths. 54 percent of those children were “forgotten” in the car by their parent or caregiver. 28 percent of deaths were caused by children who gained access to an unattended vehicle. 17 percent of those fatalities were kids intentionally left in the car, and the remaining 1 percent was listed as “unknown circumstances.”

https://www.facebook.com/trisha.hegland/posts/1512514758813189

On Monday, Sara Fite posted $2,500 bond and was released after she made her initial court appearance. She is scheduled to stand before a judge again on July 27.

[Featured Image by Johnson County Sheriff’s Office]