Screaming 4-Year-Old Girl Rescued from Hot Car in Florida, Mother Arrested

Florida: A mother in South Florida, Anastasiya Motalava, 34, was arrested on the charge of child neglect after she allegedly left her four-year-old daughter in a hot car while shopping at Walmart, according to the Hollywood Police Department. However, the charges against her were later dropped.

Motalava reportedly left her child in the car while she spent over 30 minutes inside the Walmart, based on security footage.

Hollywood Fire Rescue responded first, breaking into the car to rescue the child just before 3:15 PM. Local police said witnesses heard the child's screams and alerted emergency responders, as reported by local media. Investigators noted that the car's engine was off and a window was slightly cracked while the girl was inside.

Motalava was arrested and charged with one count of child neglect. However, later the Broward County Assistant State Attorney’s Office announced that the charges against her would be dropped.

“There is insufficient evidence to establish that the defendant's failure to provide her child with proper supervision rises to the egregious level of culpable negligence required for a felony charge of child neglect,” wrote Melissa Kelly, the county assistant state attorney for Broward County, in a memo.

The document stated that the child was unharmed and did not require medical treatment. Motalava told police she believed she had only been away from the car for 10 to 15 minutes.

“While the defendant’s conduct is irresponsible, it does not rise to the egregious level of conduct necessary to show culpable negligence,” Kelly wrote. “This was a single isolated incident of what may be deemed poor parental judgment that resulted in the defendant's arrest on felony child neglect charges.”

Kelly also noted that Motalava would have to undergo “proper child safety education” following the incident.

As per the National Safety Council, so far in 2024, 13 deaths have been reported. The number of child hot car deaths for 2023 was 29. On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. Nearly every state has experienced at least one death since 1998. In both 2018 and 2019 a record number of 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle.