Parents facing charges for allegedly leaving children in hot car in North Versailles Walmart lot

A couple is facing charges after police said they went shopping at Walmart and left four children in a parked car with the windows up and no air conditioning.

A police report said officers found the children, who all appeared to be under the age of six, visibly sweating with it soaking through their clothes. Police say the youngest child’s face was pink and red and that the car windows had condensation on them, indicating rising temperatures.

Officers said it was 76 degrees outside and it was noticeably hotter inside the car when the door was opened by the children, according to the complaint.

North Versailles police say Antonio Mabry, 23, and Derika Johnson, 25, each face three counts of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and four counts of endangering the welfare of children.

Court documents said when Mabry and Johnson came outside, they seemed confused as to why police were there, with Mabry asking the children why they didn’t call him.

Police said he told them they were “doing too much” when police requested EMS to check the children out and Walmart workers brought the children water.

Shoppers we spoke with couldn’t believe it.

“Four little ones in a car…and they’re worried about shopping at Walmart?” said Juliann Fornal, who shops at Walmart often. “They’re little…we’re adults, we can fight it. A little child cannot fight heat.”

“It’s sad. It should have never happened. As a parent myself…I have 8 kids, 14 grandkids…I couldn’t think of doing something like that. Maybe mental illness plays a part in this again? I don’t know,” said Robert Banks of Duquesne

Surveillance video showed the children were inside the car for 53 minutes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees. A child can die when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees.

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