- An 18-year-old Florida woman locked her daughter in a hot car to watch a movie with siblings
- The child was found crying and sweating in a vehicle at 34.4°C with a 41.7°C heat index
- Officers rushed the child to Lake City Medical Center for immediate medical treatment
An 18-year-old Florida teen has been arrested after she locked her daughter inside a sweltering car to watch a Smurfs movie with her siblings. The incident came to light after the Regal Cinema 90, located on US Highway 90, alerted authorities around 5:49 pm about a distressed child locked inside a vehicle.
The officers, upon arrival, found the child, who looked flushed, was crying, and drenched in sweat, according to the Lake Police Department press release. The officers reported that the outside temperature was 34.4 degrees Celsius with a heat index of 41.7 degrees Celsius.
The child was immediately rushed to the Lake City Medical Center for treatment.
The accused, Tripura Merriex, told the officer that she had taken her daughter to the movie theatre, but the child started crying, disturbing others.
The arrest report states, "Mrs. Merriex said that she brought [her daughter] out to the lobby to keep from disrupting other movie viewers' experience."
According to Law and Crime, the Regal Cinema employee told the authorities that Merriex seemed very annoyed with her daughter's constant crying. They added that, at first, she left the Smurfs movie from time to time to go outside and check on her baby herself, but later, she reportedly asked her siblings to do the same.
The cops told the outlet, "After a few trips of Mrs Merriex going out to her vehicle, the other two individuals that she had come into the cinema with started alternating out on every other trip."
According to Merriex's arrest record, her husband later stated in interviews that she had a habit of making irrational decisions about how to handle their daughter's crying. He accused her of having "negative reactions to stress related to being a parent" and of lacking "patience" when it comes to caring for the child.
Chief of Police Gerald Butler, in a press release, said, "Our officers acted swiftly to ensure the safety of this young child."
He further said, "Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable. We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritise the well-being of their children at all times, he added."
Merriex is presently being held on a $50,000 bond at the Columbia County Jail.
