Fort Worth police were dispatched to an investigation call on the 3500 block of Littlejohn Avenue Sunday at about 8:00 p.m. Details stated that several children were inside a vehicle at this location.
Once officers arrived, they observed an adult male in the yard and checked his vehicle that was parked with the engine running. Officers say they saw several children inside that appeared to be either sleeping or passed out.
"Even though the vehicle was on, once they made entry they realized that the A/C was not on or not working inside this vehicle," said Fort Worth Police Department public information Officer Brad Perez.
The children were immediately taken out and placed inside air-conditioned police cars.
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When MedStar arrived on location, they determined the children needed to be transported to a local hospital due to suffering from heat exhaustion, police say.
The five children, ages one, two, four, five and six years old were transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment. The children's current condition is unknown.
The father, Jose Leal, 29, was arrested on five counts of abandonment, endangerment to a child, and bodily injury and transported to jail.
As of this writing, MedStar reported it had responded to 14 incidents of kids who were left in hot cars since May 1, within their Tarrant County service area.
Kids in Hot Cars
HOT CAR SAFETY
According to the National Safety Council, if it's 95 degrees outside the internal temperature of a car could climb to 129 degrees in 30 minutes. After just 10 minutes, temperatures inside could reach 114 degrees.
A child's body temperature heats up three to five times faster than an adult and heatstroke can begin when a person's core body temperature reaches 104 degrees. A core temperature of 107 degrees is lethal, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
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