Georgia Mom Arrested For Leaving Children Locked In Hot Car

A Georgia mom was arrested for leaving her four children, aged 6, 4, 2 and 1, locked inside her car.

Charnae Mosley, 27, left all four of her children in her SUV on Monday, for at least 16 minutes while she went shopping at a Kroger store. The doors were locked and the windows rolled down, but the temperature at the time it happened was in the 90s. A passerby saw the children alone, and called the police, reporting them as abandoned. By the time the police arrived, Mosley was loading her groceries into the back of her SUV.

The children were safely removed from the car, given water, and treated by EMTs at the scene. They were all, thankfully, in good shape, and released into their grandmother’s custody, as their mother now faces charges of reckless endangerment.

The children were still crying as they were driven away by their grandmother, after the Department of Family and Child Services, who were called onto the scene, spoke to the grandmother, who says that Mosley is a “good mother who made a bad decision.”

Mosley is still in jail in Fulton County, pending an $8,000 bond. However, even if she is released, the judge says she will not be allowed contact with her children, and the Department of Family and Child Services have opened an investigation. A probable cause hearing for her case is scheduled for August 11th.

So-called “hot car cases” all too often end in a child’s death. In 2013, there were 44 confirmed cases of children dying from hyperthermia (heatstroke), as well as numerous “close calls.” So far this year, there have been at least 18 deaths resulting from children being left in hot cars, including the recent case of Justin Ross Harris, also of Georgia, who stands accused of leaving his toddler son in a hot car all day on purpose. Harris has been denied bond and currently faces child cruelty charges and a felony murder charge.

Although Mosley’s case differs from other “hot car” cases in that Mosley did leave the windows down, it was still a reckless and dangerous action that could have ended in a tragedy. As Atlanta Police Department Public Information Officer Greg Lyon said, “The most important thing is that the children are okay, they’re with their grandmother.”

But Officer Lyon also added that “It’s the South, it’s summertime, it’s hot, it’s humid. Whether it’s animal, family pet, of course your child, don’t leave them unattended in a vehicle.”

[Image Via WSB-TV Atlanta]