News headline from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department:

At around 2:40 p.m. on June 6th, Hesperia deputies responded to a report of an infant in a closed vehicle in the Fresh and Easy Market parking lot, located on Main Street in Hesperia.  A caller reported to 911 dispatchers that he had walked by a van and heard a child screaming.  When he looked inside, he saw an infant who appeared to be in distress.  When unable to locate the owner, two concerned citizens opened the vehicle and retrieved the infant.

Deputies arrived soon after and were able to locate the mother, identified as Jessica Cynthia Leon, 28, of Hesperia.

Investigators determined she had left the infant alone in the vehicle for an hour and a half while shopping.  Hesperia fire personnel responded and transported the infant, who was dehydrated and soaked in sweat, to a local hospital.

Leon was arrested and booked at Victor Valley Jail for willful child endangerment likely to cause great bodily injury/death and is being held on $100,000.00 bail.  Leon is expected to be arraigned on June 8th in Victorville Superior Court.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nationwide, at least 33 children died during 2011 in heatstroke-related deaths when they were left unattended in vehicles.  When left in a hot vehicle, a young child’s body temperature may increase three to five times as fast an adult.  High body temperatures can cause permanent injury or even death.  If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call 911 immediately. 

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Friday, June 8, 2012

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