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Mom Accused of Leaving Baby in Car on Freezing Cold Night

A mother was arrested after she allegedly left her 1-year-old child alone in the car during a freezing cold night in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Mirella Rodriguez, 23, parked on the 800 block of St. John Street in Allentown Tuesday. Police say the mother of three took her 2-year-old child inside a barbershop to get a haircut but left her sleeping 1-year-old baby inside her vehicle unattended.  At the time it was about 20 degrees in Allentown with a wind chill of 9 degrees and her car was not running, investigators said.

An Allentown Parking Authority officer saw the baby alone in the car and police were called to the scene. Investigators say the baby was inside the car for about 45 minutes before police arrived.

Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday night and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The child, who police say is doing fine, was placed in the custody of her grandfather.

NBC10 visited Rodriguez’s home Wednesday to get her side of the story. She did not want to speak with us however. Rodriguez’s father, who did not want to be identified, defended his daughter, calling her a caring and diligent mother who made a mistake.

“She should be charged with stupidity,” he said.

Rodriguez also defended herself on her Facebook page.

“Anybody who knows me personally knows I’m a great mother and would never purposely harm my child,” she said.  “I'm all about my children and working. For those of you who don’t know me just know they blew the whole story out of proportion. If you've been involved with the cops you know first-hand how they are.”
 

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