Welcome to Arrest Stories. A twenty-nine-year-old Sunrise mother faces child neglect charges after allegedly leaving three young children trapped in the trunk of a hot car for nearly forty minutes while shopping at Walmart. Here's what may have happened.
On Sunday afternoon, what started as a routine shopping trip to a Sunrise Walmart turned into a dangerous situation for three small children. According to police reports, Ciera Washington left her children locked inside a sweltering vehicle with the engine turned off and no air conditioning running.
The alarming discovery came when a passerby heard faint knocking sounds coming from inside a parked car. When authorities arrived and investigated the vehicle, they made a shocking discovery. As one officer reported, "When he looked inside the back seat of the vehicle, he noticed two empty car seats, and a child's foot sticking out of the opening of the back seat that led to the trunk of the vehicle."
All three children were found hiding in the trunk area of the car, completely cut off from ventilation with all windows rolled up. The children were described as "drenched in sweat and hot" when rescued. The two youngest children were in particularly distressing condition, as they "had full diapers and feces on their legs."
Surveillance footage from the Walmart revealed Washington had been inside the store for thirty-nine minutes while the children remained trapped in the increasingly hot vehicle. Despite the dangerous conditions, police confirmed the children were found unharmed and received medical attention.
Washington was arrested and charged with child neglect. Her bond was set at three thousand dollars. Her attorney noted that "She's never been arrested in her life. She's residing here her whole entire life. My understanding is she has claimed disability and she is unemployed at this time."
As part of her release conditions, Washington has been ordered not to have contact with her children except through dependency court proceedings.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.