Infant left in car back with mom

Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 26, 2003

An 8-month-old boy is back home with his mother today after being left inside an unventilated car while his grandmother and the infant’s sister went shopping at the local Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The young infant was treated for severe dehydration at Vaughan Regional Medical Center earlier this week.

Doctors at the hospital say the child would have died had it not been for the efforts of officer Jimmy Crowe of the Selma Police Department.

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The two Selma women, Willie Carson Coker, 61, and Jennifer Carson, 18, were arrested and charged with child neglect. They were taken to the Dallas County Jail and later released on a $1, 500 bond each.

The women claim they forgot the child was with them at the time.

According to the police report, someone noticed the infant inside the vehicle sometime between 4-5 p.m. and notified the Selma Police Department.

When Crowe arrived on the scene, the infant had already perspired to the point of dehydration.

Crowe proceeded to break into the car and remove the infant.

A Wal-Mart security guard provided the infant with a bottle of cold water as the officer placed the boy inside his air-conditioned patrol cruiser to await an ambulance.

Evans said this incident serves as a serious reminder of what can happen when children and pets are left unattended in a vehicle with no

protection.