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5-Month Old Left Alone In Hot Car; Flomaton Woman Arrested
July 22, 2011
A Flomaton woman was arrested Thursday after a 5-month old baby was left unattended about 20 minutes in a hot car in Pensacola.
The baby was treated and released from a local hospital before being taken into custody by the Florida Department of Children and Family Services before being turned over to its grandparents.
Jessica Burnham, age 20 of Vanhoosen Road, has been charged with child neglect without great harm — a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine.
Pensacola Police Department Officer Jud Fillingim said Burnham went to LabCorp on North Ninth Avenue to have some blood work done. Initially, she took the baby inside, but returned to the car with the baby after being told it could not go into the blood drawing area.
Burnham told LabCorp employees she had someone in the car and would take the baby to them while her blood was drawn. A witness told police she saw Burnham place the baby in a car seat, enter the vehicle and drive it to a partially shaded area of the parking lot.
Fillingim said Burnham told officers she turned on the air conditioning while she went back inside LabCorp. The female witness said approximately 20 minutes passed, no one was with the baby in the vehicle, and she was worried about the baby’s safety so she notified a LabCorp employee.
The employee and witness went to the car, found the doors unlocked, the windows up and the car’s air conditioner blowing hot air.
Fillingim said the women took the baby, who was sweating profusely and hot to the touch, inside and called for an ambulance. The female baby was taken to a local hospital for observation.
Comments
100 Responses to “5-Month Old Left Alone In Hot Car; Flomaton Woman Arrested”
I agree 100% with Molino Anon. Decent human beings don’t go out of their way to hurt other people. It’s our cultural shift. We have been divided and we are now being conquered. We have very little sense of community, empathy, or commitment to one another.
The wonderful thing is we can choose to change that ourselves. We can choose to be helpful, kind, and considerate even though others will keep acting the same. For a time. We are the culture and we can change the culture if we choose.
I’m a very good friend of Jessica, and she’s a good mother. She made a mistake one time. It’s hard for me to see this on here because I know how great of a person Jessica is. Everybody makes mistakes, and this is something I know she regrets. I love you Jess, and no matter what ANYBODY says about you, you’re an amazing person and I’ve got your back!!!
if she had not lied and said someone was outside that would watch the baby then maybe the employee’s would have offered her help..
there’s alot of what if’s and who could have done something-but think god this infant is not six feet under–this time-if she gets away with it now would she do it again…
While I don’t at all agree to her solution to the problem…what I don’t understand is why she couldn’t leave the baby in the carrier just outside the lab and do her blood work which probably took all of several minutes. It’s not like the 5 month old was going anywhere. I think the employees could have made a concession here and helped her out for a few minutes.
I dont agree with what this mother did but I was inLabcorp last week and there was just 2 people in there working ! I think they need more employees in there aond people would not have to wait SOOOO long just to get a simple bloo
d test done or a simple urine sample done … I have never waited that long anywhere else I had test done ! Labcorp… HIRE MORE WORKERS so people dont have to wait so long !
REGARDING;
“DHG….. Put a sock in it.”
I tried but my socks have holes.
David confused
I hope this young mother doesn’t get tagged with a Felony for this because it will ruin her life in finding a job to support this child. I don’t agree that people should not take their babies with them to the Doctor. Some people do not have the luxury of having someone to keep the children. This place, Labcor, or whatever was the name should provide a place to leave the children while the mother is trying to get help. PLEASE LAW ENFORCEMENT, DO NOT PENALIZE THIS YOUNG MOTHER; she did wrong probably but was not thinking. She did care enough to leave the ac running, probably not knowing it was not putting out cold air. I do agree she should not have left the little one in the car at all but please reprimand her but do not put a sentence on her that she cannot pay.
Wow… so tired of reading people stick up for someone who makes such a bad decision. She could have killed an innocent child by not making a good decision that day. So many of you blame the witness or labcorps, they didn’t put an innocent child in a car in sweltering heat. The grandparents picked up the child after the fact, why couldn’t his young woman arrange for them to babysit during her appointment? She is young and obviously not a responsible parent. Let the law handle this and let this be a lesson to all you young single parents; if you decide to bring a child into this world, be willing to change how you live your life, you now have greater responsibilities to live up to. I’m relieved the child is ok and I hope after whatever happens to this young woman, she is reunited with her child and learns from this mistake.
DHG….. Put a sock in it. LOL
EMD for DHG taking another’s advice: ” Find another hobby.”
>:D
Ok, what is wrong with this picture. First, there was no harm in the child going in with her mom to get blood work. I have taken my child many times into the doctors office and to get lab work done. That is discrimination against a single mom. Second, that Mama should not of done that. We all know that. I do believe she needed that blood work done bad or she wouldnt of done what she did. At least she did try to keep the baby cool. Third, why couldnt someone in that office of helped that young woman. You know you could of held that baby for her. I have worked in a hospital for many years and at times when a child could not go back we watch the baby or babies for the parents. Come on LabCore where is your companion. I pray this young mother does not go to jail. I pray she learned a very valuable lesson and is able to raise that sweet baby!!! May God Bless her.
Hmmm… I remember in a not so long ago past late-70’s early to mid-80’s, my sister and I would sit in a car with the window cracked while my mom went grocery shopping, or just running errands in general… I also remember many times mom pulling off the road, taking me out of the car, pulling my pants down, and spanking me with a brush in a ditch… back then you didn’t have cellphones, video cameras, or people with nothing better to do but get involved etc. and it was acceptable to do the above mentioned things. I turned out alright… sortta ;P
My have times changed, too many cellphones, self-centered people, kids having kids, and people not minding their own business. Lastly too many TV shows, politicians, and wingers telling us what is right or wrong.
Okay 5 months old, that is a little to young, instead of calling the law and making a HUGE DRAMATIC LOOK AT ME THE HERO phone call, the employee could have gotten the mother of this child and give her some motherly advice. NO, people want attention and a huge pat on the back to bring their ego up a notch, this goes back to selfishness.
REGARDING:
“I did a lot of things that were NOT in my job description. What does THAT have to do with being human? ”
The thing isn’t that someone MIGHT have helped in some other way than to alert authorities of a possible problem. It is that some would arrest those strangers who did not take over care of the infant while they were legitimately handling blood, needles, urine.
If you arrested everybody who MIGHT have intervened on someone’s behalf, you would put everybody in jail because there’s always something more someone MIGHT have done.
David for limited legal wrangling
EMD what the heck is wrong with you? Your attitude is exactly what is wrong with our society today, everyone wants to blame everyone else except the person solely responsible for this act. Who cares what you did that was not in your job description, that is very commendable of your. But you would be talking out the other side of your mouth if some employee had cared for the baby and something happened either real or imagined and this mother decided to bring a lawsuit, can you see the liability here. Join the real sue happy world my friend.
You cannot tell me that she drove all the way from Flomaton and not know her AC was not working. That is a 50-60 mile drive and in this heat she knew her AC was not working. As a matter of fact a couple of folks that claim to know her personally have stated that she knew the AC was inoperable.
You can keep on saying people should have done this and should have done that, but when the rubber meets the road it is still Jessica Burnham’s responsibility to either care for her own child or make arrangements for someone else to do so when she has appointments.
What in the world is wrong with people these days yeah the mom made a mistake. And she is in trouble for that mistake. But what about the wittness I mean come on its only 105 degrees outside, and you know there is a small infant in a car with windows up AND YOU WAIT 20 MINUTES BEFORE YOU SAY OR DO ANYTHING!! WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOES THAT. 20 MINUTES IS WAY TO LONG TO WAIT. WAY TO GO MOM AND WITNESS. THE CARELESS PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. GLAD BABY IS OK THOUGH YOUR LORD LOOKED AFTER YOU CHILD!! MAY GOD BLESS YOU!!!
This society is becoming colder and more callous by the day. “Not in their job description” Blah, blah, blah. What is wrong with you people? Every case is not alike. Everyone that goes to that lab does not travel that far. I did alot of things that were NOT in my job description. What does THAT have to do with being human? One day I left home at 6AM and didn’t get back until 10PM that night. I think I was doing things that were NOT in my job description. SO WHAT!? Every day was not like that, but do we have to be paid now, just to be human? I am sorry but this whole story stinks. I think that this young woman was the ONLY one here who even tried to do the right thing. She did not know the A/C was not functioning properly. If anyone goes to jail, or is fined, it should be the one who “watched” for 20 minutes, if that is what actually happened. They could have been holding the baby for 20 minutes. Good grief! Grown up tattle tales. Offer to help next time. Do I sound angry? Maybe that is because I am. This story is infuriating.
to nicole and angelia….i hope somewhere down the line that you are shown as much compassion as you are showing now. everyone’s situation is different. No, she shouldn’t have said that she had someone in the car, but she probably looked around and saw that no one would help her, and decided to risk it. i agree that whomever was watching for the twenty minutes could have watched the baby for twenty minutes. everything is not always cut and dried. there are circumstances not always apparent to everyone. it was a mistake without any real harm. i am not talking about what if’s. not about what could have happened. only what did. the baby is fine. mom is in trouble. i am ashamed of my fellowman if they can not use just plain old common sense and reach out and help once in a while.
I just can’t believe this. This woman is just trying to take care of business and no one could offer to hold the baby the five minutes it would take to pee in a cup? Things are so hard out there now. I don’t care if this woman was taking a drug test for court or for a job, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt anyone to lend a helping hand. I, myself, was just up at the Piggly Wiggly last week. I was going to my car and heard a young boy yelling for his grandpa. He yelled and yelled. I could see he was about 7 or 8 years old. I simply walked over and started talking to the child. He said his grandpa went in the store with his uncle and he got scared for being alone. He said they were going camping. He was somewhat worried when he couldn’t tell how long his granpa was going to be. About 5 or 6 minutes later, the grandpa and uncle walked out of the store. The young boy pointed them out to me. As the grandpa approached, I told him that his grandson got a little worried about him. Grandpa talked gently to the boy and told him that he said he would be right back. No one called the law. No one had to go to court. The bible says we should help our neighbor. So keep this in mind.
Many have given their opinions on what should happen. In my opinion, if you are going to Labcorp or any other testing facility, as I have several times, for employment screenings or other reasons, you DO NOT take children with you. You should never expect others to come to your aid and watch your children for you. You NEVER EVER put your children in a car that is approximately 140 degrees on a 90 degree day and leave them for 5 minutes. I am thankful to God that this child did not die of a heat stroke in this car. The people that witnessed this should have immediately reported this instead of watching and doing nothing. Single mother or not, this young lady needs some parenting classes and should have known better. There are too many people that would have kidnapped that child and done God knows what to it. I feel for this young woman, the baby and the entire family involved. I bet she thinks twice next time!
Are we forgetting,its against the law to leave a child or animal alone in a hot or warm car or pickup (the temp can soar to over 120 deg in a matter of a few mins.This happens so often,are you suppost to wait until the child dies,then what.I think they call it,using your common sense).A little punishment will go a long way!
This is crazy….regardless of how you lood at it. The young adult has made several bad decisions that I can see in this article….ONE: Having a child when she is certainly not able to be a parent TWO: Lying! and THREE: You never leave a child in a car without supervision Period! No matter the reason.
My2Cents for Sound Judgement and Parents looking out for their own child(ren)
I know Jesica personally and she is a good mom. She is is a single mother and soley supports the child and she was at the lab for a URINE TEST, not blood blood drawn! A job which was an at home position so that she could support her daughter while staying home to tend to and raise her.Yes she made a wrong choice that could have ended much worse, she is facing repcussions.She would never do anything to harm her baby or anyone else for that matter. As to the comments made about the status of the father and his family or dealings with child are completely irrelevant to what’s going on and it’s petty and childish for those associated with him to try and trow that up. people on here are not aware or who is or what he has done, but if they were you would not be so quick to use that card. i dont agree with the choice she made but try and understand her reason or the predicament she was in. She made a mistake and will face what comes but lets not hang this young mother for a mistake. Jesica has never done anything out of question or character…never done anything to place that baby in harms way Should she be punished in some way…. yes , but prison or having her chid taken from her seens out of question
It seems to be Lab corp should put a sign up saying no children. Oh but wait that is discrimnation isn’t it? What the heck is suppose to be done. Again she did not show good judgement but there is enough wrong here on both sides. As I said in an earlier statement she should have set a different time and date. If a person observed the child in a car for 20 minutes in the heat and the staff was told about it. Then by all means they should have called her out and made her another appointment for a different date and explained to her they do not baby sit nor will the tolerate child negelect for any amount of time. Lab Corp knew she was sitting there waiting and they knew after the person told them the child was unattended. They do have a responsibility here besides just call the law enforcement to arrest her. I think she made a childish mistak but sut she has to now learn the hard way. I feel for both the child and mother. Children raining children. Just my opinion.
This is such a sad situation. I am glad the baby is ok and with family.
Something that I haven’t seen mentioned is…if the father of the baby wants to see and does support his baby (don’t know any of the people involved, just going by what was posted by someone who claims to know) why was the child released to the grandparents and not the childs father. Don’t they usually release children to their parents first, unless there is a reason NOT to release to the other parent?
There are so many could of, should of, would of……
It is possible that there was a dead line for the testing as to why she didn’t reschedule. As mentioned below, the doors not being locked could have been bc if she locked them, she wouldnt have had a way to get back INSIDE the car to her baby.
I agree that she made a BAD judgement call. I agree with EMD that no MALICE was intended. The definition of malice is…. desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness. By moving her car to the shade and turning the air on ( I understand it turned out to be blowing hot air) showed it was not a malicious act.
I have made decision before and after all was said and done, wish I would have handled that situation differently. As I am sure, most people posting on here have. I would think if she could go back and have a redo, she would have handled this situation different. Unfortunately, she can’t. All she can do now is learn from the mistake and move forward.
I don’t know this mom but I do know how tough things can be sometimes when you are just doing the best you know how.
We are so caught up in our own lives that I would step out on a limb and say that not one person in that facility was willing to hold that child for a few minutes to help her but in the end EVERYONE of them had their moment to criticize her.
I work in a medical office and I myself have held a baby so mom could take care of her needs. It’s really not that hard.
Let’s just replay this in a kinder light… she needs a hand… someone holds the child for 5 minutes…she’s thanks them and states how appreciative she is and leaves with her labs done and all is well.
Come on folks, quit trying to lay the blame on LabCorp personnel. That is not their job. Each employee has a job to do and watching a baby could have possibly interfered with that job, not to even mention the liability involved. If something had happened to that baby while in the care of a LabCorp employee can you imagine the uproar it would have caused, let alone the possible lawsuit.
It does not take 20 minutes to draw blood. You are confusing the blood draw with the amount of time the baby was left in the car before it was reported. Sometimes one can sit in LabCorp for an hour or more before being called for a 5 minute blood draw.
As for you AC blowing hot air when the engine is idling, then you need to have you AC checked. As long as the engine is running, either at idle or cruising speed, you AC should be blowing cold air. I can turn on my AC with my car idling and it is nearly as cold as when the engine is at cruise, but it certainly is not blowing hot air. Besides it has already been pointed out in this forum that she knew that her AC was not working in her car.
The story says that a witness watched for 20 minutes…thank the LORD…but seems to me she was watching or looking out for the baby…GOD put the witness there that day at that moment just for that…the girl is young…she thought she was doing the right thing…all will be OK and it will pass..maybe she learned a lesson…she parked in the shade…shows she was thinking a little bit anyway
Like Others have said She should have Resceduled…..Has anyone ever sat in a car for 20 min in this heat?Especially with hot air blowing…Plus the doors was unlocked any PEDOFILE could have got that baby or just someone who is mean and wanted to hurt someone…So it isnt just about leaving a baby in a hot car…what if it had spit up an then chocked on it…So see anything couldve happeed….
She is a good mom. She messed up one time give her a break. She would have been better off if she would have told them the truth, but she didn’t. How many mom have put their kids in danger by dating a certain guy, letting them play outside with no supervision? Parents are always putting their children in danger this is nothing new, leaving a baby in the car happens everyday no one ever says anything to moms who smoke around their kids, or beat their kids. How is this so much different? She was in the wrong but there is no need in all this, all the media is doing is making an example of her.
Very bad choice. This girl definitely needs some parenting classes.
That being said, what establishment would ban a 5 month old??? I draw blood all the time. There’s no reason a 5 month old could not safely have set on the mother’s knee opposite of the arm that was being stuck. Or… if the staff was concerned about the child’s safety, it would’ve been reasonable to ask the mother to bring the child’s carseat in so the child could be restrained safely during the procedure.
I know it’s not the lab staffs “responsibitllity”, but a reasonable person would have put a little thought into it. This girl drove over an hour to have blood work drawn– seems simple— only for lab staff to bully her when she arrived. Give me a break. Hope she’ll learn a lesson from this. Hope the lab staff feels ashamed.
PEOPLE – NEWS FLASH! It is NEVER EVER SAFE to let BABIES or SMALL CHILDREN ALONE in a LOCKED or UNLOCKED CAR with or without AIR CONDITIONING.
THANK GOD THIS CHILD SURVIVED HER MOTHERS STUPIDY. The baby should be removed from her custody forever period. This child could have died or been stolen.
This happens every year numerous times around the county. This person is a terriable mother and this proves it 1000000000000%
Yeah, true the lab office is not a baby sitting place, but COME ON, someone couldof watched the baby. Obviously you could tell she didnt have no one with her or in the car cause she brought the baby inside with her to begin with! She should get charged with something but GOING TO PRISON FOR 5 YEARS IS NOT RIGHT… OMG, people these days….
I understand that leaving the baby was wrong and she could have used better judgement. But do we that are on the outside looking in know how hard it is to get someone to keep yours for you these days. Maybe she should have been advised before her appointment that children were not allowed. True enough, it may no be the responsibility of the workers there to watch the baby, but would it have hurt anything if she’d kept the baby inside until they were actually ready to draw the blood and one of them had a heart to watch the child. Then let her go on her way afterwards. Who takes 20 minutes to draw blood. Then why be so sneaky and call the ambulance behind her back. Another thing, alot of vehicles blow out hot air when the car is crank, but not moving. I know that from my own experience.
well every one else has let loose so here I go,
I am glad the Baby is ok and now with family members.
As for the mother, perhaps she will get a clue and learn how to be a good parent!
It is not LabCorps job to babysit..It is the responsibility of the mother..Grandparents got custody so why didn’t she ask them to sit while she got the test done..If she had no sitter she should have rescheduled the test.Why didn’t she tell the truth ..that she had no one with her and ask for help..Her choice to lie and leave the baby in the car..The fault is hers and no one elses..
no businesses shouldn’t be required to babysit, but it would be the courteous thing to do. We do that at my job all the time because children are not allowed to be in the blood drawing area.
Either way…she left her kid in the car…she got lucky it turned out okay. If this third degree felony is the worst that can come from this…
What is wrong with society?
If you gave your child to someone so they can look after them while at LabCorp and they were called back while you were still having testing/blood drawn, who would they give the baby to? This is one person with one child….can you imagine this place with the amount of children some people have and strangers trying to wrangle them while the business conducts their daily routine? OMG, I would boycott the place for not being professional. This is a business, REGARDLESS if you like them or not! They are not responsible for taking care of the persons own responsibility…also, think of it this way.Some comments read “Why did it take 20 minutes to have blood work done? Maybe the person that was to draw her blood was looking after another persons child! (lol) What would some think then, they are responsible and I think I will recommened everyone coming here, Heck No you would not, You would complain just like most on here already are because they made the provisions!
If you can not take care of your child(ren), then do not go thru the process of making them until you are ready!
They are called LabCorp not Burgeer King, where you get your way every time!
Oh really??? The fathers “family” has two sides .. And the people he is living are not on drugs btw!!! I know Jessica and this is not the first time she has made a bad choice for the child. You ppl need to wake up bc she is def not the best mom in the world and really does not try to be! And no I am a witness she does not let the baby see her father although he cares for her and does support the child as much as he can!!!!
I do know jessica very well !! with that being said no i dont think she would hurt anyone but she is a little crazy ! Everyone keeps saying poor judgment and young mom and the labcorp is at fault . I would have NEVER lrft my young baby in a hot car with hot air blowing shade are not in p cola with the doors unlocked. It come down to common scense not poor judgment when she did have other options . And if she has so much on her plate who knows if it was even an accident?? Hard sisuation are not my baby and the walfare of it is the most important thing to me that job/drug test would have to wait.
It scares me to read folks saying she just made a mistake. She didn’t make a mistake. She consciously left a child in a car. In Florida. In July. AND let’s say that’s ok, why would she leave the doors unlocked with an infant? Not mistakes, bad choices and not thinking about anyone but herself.
REGARDING:
“the facility SHOULD also be charged with neglect SOMEONE could and should have watched that BABY for what 5 or 10minutes!!!”
Obviously not 5 or 10 minutes since the interval was at least 20 minutes.
You would really charge a laboratory for not watching children for people who walked in off the street? Either you don’t want them to do their assigned jobs or do you want them sticking needles into people and handling urine while holding stranger’s children?
Do you believe all people and all businesses should be forced to watch the children of others on demand?
David against enslavement
the facility SHOULD also be charged with neglect SOMEONE could and should have watchet that BABY for what 5 or 10minutes!!!that child could have DIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are right NENE, none of us know what we would do in a certain situation, however I do know without a doubt that I would never leave a child in a hot car even to 10 seconds. Heck I would never leave a child unattended in a car period, hot or not. Besides the danger it presents to the child, it is against the law.
Yes this young mother made a terrible choice that could have had fatal consequences. Would any of yall be on here defending her if the baby had died from this. I highly doubt it. Yall would be trying to crucify her just as people crucified Casey Anthony before her trial ever began.
Sad thing is that she will probably get the same or more punishment than Casey Anthony did.
What she did was a big mistake. Let’s hope she learns from it.
I have to agree with the person who put their name as grandma. She is a young mom who is new to this whole thing. Put yourself in her shoes for a second. Do any of you people commenting even know this girl? well I do, and I know she would never harm that baby purposely. They should have let that baby come back with her to have her blood work done, what would that have harmed. She prolly had some nurse that hates her job and her life and just like to take it out on innocent young women like jessica. yes it wasnt the most responsible decision leaving the child in the car, but accidents happen. Im behind you jessica 100% I know you just made an honest mistake and I think people should put themselves in your shoes and see how hard it is for a mother with little money and a lot on her plate and see what they would do in the same situation. I know you had the best intentions. Im so sorry for what has happened and im so glad madelyn is okay.
I am so sorry this happened to you. You made the best decision that you thought was good at the time. It was not a good decision but worse has happened. I’m not here to criticize you or judge you but to give you support. It could have happened to any of us. People are so quick to judge. You do things w/out thinking. People sit back and say what they would have done. You never know what you would have done in a situation until it happen to you.
I used the Labcorp at 1400 N Palafox the other day. I was sent for a pre-employment urine drug screen. It took me over an hour to get it taken care of and there was only one other person there ahead of me. I was not impressed with it at all. There appeared to be only one person working and there were children in the waiting room that day. I would never choose to use Labcorp myself as it does not have a very good atmosphere and the nurse was rude and the whole place appeared to be unclean. I do not understand what would have been the problem to let the lady take her back with her to have her blood drawn. At 5 months most people carry their babies in a carrier which meant she could have sat the baby on the other side of her while her blood is being drawn.
I have to completely agree with you Jim w. I know her personally and she loves that baby so much, shes not only is a good mother, she is a good person, and would not do any harm to anyone intentionally. But like you said, she made a bad judgement call in a stressful situation and unfortunately she is going to have to learn her lesson the hard way. Nobody is perfect, I know she just made a mistake, a big one at that, but a mistake it certainly was. Lets not forget we all have mistakes we’ve made in life, big ones and small ones and we have all learned from them, most of us anyways. Thats what life is all about, but the important thing is, is that we learn from them and keep on living life. My prayers go out to Jessica, the baby, and her family.
@Becky: This is not about whether she was there for a blood test or a urine test, that has no bearing other than it is what brought her to LabCorp. This is about the fact that she left a 5 month old baby in her car with the windows up and an inoperable AC blowing nothing but hot air.
Who cares why she was at LabCorp, her actions while their is what has cast this pall of suspicion upon her and the castigation that she is getting from most of the posters here, with the exception of EMD who thinks there is no malice in her actions.
There is a lot of blame to go around here. Kids having kids and maybe not making the right decisions like seting a different time and date to have the blood draw. Like the lab not allowing a child to be there in the cool of the office rather than else where in this heat. Oh yeah there was a plenty wrong there for sure. The one I feel for is the child. I also kind of feel for the mother as well. Giving her the benefit of doubt she is probably trying to be a good mom. Who knows but she did display she cared by trying to park in the shade. It’s just she did not exercise good judement in leaving her child unattended and in a hot unlocked car. Again children trying to raise children. I truly feel for both the mother and the child in this case. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying what she did is right or excuseable what so ever. I am hoping this mother has learned a lesson from all this. Unfortunately is is the hard way.
Seriously…..when did people start taking a blood test to see if you were doing drugs??? You only need to do a urine sample for that….she was obviously getting her blood drawn for a different reason.
It angers me when a person leaves a dog in the car with the windows up when its hot, let alone a child.
the mother had choices, inconvenient ones- but, choices….whoever intervened needs to be thanked- not demonized….. by the symptoms of the baby, reported by the witnesses, they were totally correct in calling an ambulance for this distressed infant- brain damage could have most certainly occured had the baby not been rescued…with that being said, in my opinion, she does NOT deserve a felony conviction- she DOES deserve an appropriate penalty, of some kind, though…along w/counseling- and close monitoring by DCF for a period of time….i remember being young, like her, and making some pretty dumb decisions involving my kids, too….
No child for any reason should ever be left unattended in a vehicle, especially this time of year when it is 110 degree heat index. The inside of the vehicle will reach temparatures of around 200 degrees. Children and animals will die when left in those conditions. Just glad someone acted and got the child out of the vehicle. There is no excuses for this, it is just plain and simple neglect. She should be punished for it no matter what her intensions were. She should be thankfull that the child was ok and learn from her mistake.
and if she was gong for a job but had noone to keep the child what she going to do leave the baby in the car while she is at work come on know her are not that was uncalled for.
It doesnt even look like she had been crying in her pic are even upset for that matter if she realy thought that it was ok then how good of a mother can you really be? 20 min and the baby was just “chilling” i think not this was very un called for even if the screen was for a job why not reschedule are come back show what was more important becasue if the baby would have died she wouldnt have needed a job to “support” the child.
Oh for crying out loud, cut the KID some slack. This could have gone
horribly wrong, but it looks like it will be OK. Now.. this girl is in trouble
over her poor decision.
I love kids, but this is the problem with KIDS having KIDS before they
are mature, which is different for each and every kid.
THIS KID should NOT have LIED and she should have made another
appointment. we ALL know that.
She moved the child to shade, that shows she WAS TRYING.
As to the fact she left the doors open. HEY! think about that one.
She left the car running for the AC. If she only had one key on her then
she HAD to leave the car doors unlocked or she couldn’t have
gotten back into the car to drive home. Should she have done any of it?
OF COURSE NOT!
It would have been nice if SOME HUMAN BEING would have helped
this poor young girl and her baby out, but I guess there were no HUMAN
BEINGS THERE! these days that doesn’t supprise me at all.
I have all my lab work done at lab. corp. my insurance requires it.
It is all for my yearly exams. Lab corp, does more than drug testing.
THEY ARE BY FAR the WORST PEOPLE I HAVE EVER DEALT with IN
THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY. I have no idea why they are
so lazy, slow, unhappy and mean.
This is EXACTLY WAY YOUNG WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE HAVING CHILDREN! She is the mother she should have cancelled the appt, reschelded for a time someone could watch the baby…commen sense anyone? I am a new mother and know better
To: molinogurl- what do you mean “what are they supposed to do, leave their child with some stranger” no they are supposed to be responsible, reschedule the appointment, leave the baby with a relative, the absolute last thing you want to do is leave your baby unattended in a hot car when you know the a.c. doesnt work, which she did. what was she supposed to do.. Ha, there are a million other things that she was “supposed” to do other than leaving an infant in a hot car with the windows up.
I am a new mom and know never to leave a babys side period unless they are in there crib! EXACTLY WHY YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BEAR CHILDREN …I THINK A LICENSE IS NEEDED TO BEAR CHILDREN! If it were my choice she would rot in jail for awhile!!! Cancel the damn appt and go back another time when you can find someone to watch the baby…um duh
UNEXCUSABLE! People please quit defending someone that would leave a defenseless 5 month old baby in a car no matter the weather or circumstances this is completely stupid!!!! She’s not fit to be a parent. You drive down the road you see signs don’t shake the baby, don’t sleep with the baby, I guess now they will have to put a sign up don’t leave your baby unattended especially in a car when it is so hot while you do blood work.. How long do we need to make excuses for people and their behavior? I am very sympathetic to this baby and that she will be raised by this as a mother!!!!!!! And to you people who say it is none of my business you are so right; however, when my tax dollars (most likely) is paying for this kind of stupidity I beg to differ!!!
I have had to use Labcorp in the past due to my health insurance requiring it. I didn’t like going there. They are competent and professional overall, however, the ambience is not great. I don’t think they are terrible people at all, though they are not going to baby you when you go in there.
I can guarantee that if she was in there for 20 minutes, she was still sitting in the waiting room waiting for her turn in the back. Once they call you back, it never takes very long to draw blood or take a urine sample. Of course she may have had paper work issues that slowed things down.
I believe that they do restrict children when taking urine samples to avoid cheating on drug tests.
@EMD: I say again. I see no malice here. This article says that she moved the car to what shade she could find, and left the A/C on.
Are you blind? When the baby was removed from the vehicle, she was sweating profusely and was hot to the touch. The AC was blowing hot air.
You see no malice in this, then you are wearing rose colored glasses. Sweating and a body hot to the touch is approaching heat exhaustion, next step heat stroke. It matters not that it took witnesses 20 minutes to respond, all that matters is this woman knowing left a baby in a vehicle unattended(which BTW is against the law). This young lady is very fortunate that she is not being charged with manslaughter. Remember she also lied and told a LabCorp employee that she had someone in the car that would take care of the baby. Does it sound like she was asking for help? Not to me, it sounds like she was only looking out for herself and to heck with everyone else.
Yes I agree, clearly this is a case of child neglect, this girl whom I know personally knew that her cars air conditioning unit was not functioning, she complained about it all the time. Knowing how hot it is this time of year how could you possibly thing even a shaded area would keep you baby cool, and to leave it alone in the car with the doors unlocked is repulsive. Yet also this is a new, young, mother who has no experience with motherhood made a bad judgment call. I dont think it should be taken to the extreme, but I also think that she needs to be punished in some way. That baby could have died easily in that 20 or so mins. it was in that car, but I do know jessica very well, and the father, and I know that jessica loves that baby with all her heart, and she would never do anything to intentionally hurt that child yet obviously she is not ready for the responsibility of caring for a child no matter how much she loves it. and for the person who wrote she needs to let the father see the baby and she is wrong for not letting him, i think thats bull crap, cuz anyone who know the father knows him and his entire family are drug peddling criminals who would probably put that baby in more danger than that mother did on that terrible day.
LIABILITY – thats why Labcorp can’t watch or allow children in there. If you want the economy to really improve – insist on tort reform that will stop stupid frivolous lawsuits etc. Then people can admit a mistake and pay for the mistake….and not for 100 times more than the mistake…
The way I see it, mom is responsible for the child’s Safety. Not the lab employ’s. It makes me sick to think anyone would leave a small child alone in a car like that, for any reason. Clearly child neglect. I hope she gets what she deserves. There is no excuse for the action of the mother.
It is certain that this young mother used terrible judjment in leaving her baby in a hot, unlocked car.. I can see where she might of felt that she was being backed into a corner by the Labcorp employees.. Judging from some of the previous blogs about the demeanor of these employees, this INEXPERIENCED mother may have been intimidated and felt she had no choice.. That being said, there is still NO EXCUSE for leaving a baby alone in a car, period..
Well LabCorp or anyone else for that matter…specially when you don’t have someone with you to help you…Single Parents doing it on there own, maybe can’t afford a baby-sitter, you don’t know there situation so what are they suppose to do, leave there child with some stranger in the waiting room or some stranger who works at the company…NOOO, I would NEVER leave my child with someone I don’t know.
I agree with everyone, it was a mistake to leave the child in the car. Young people often make decisions that are not in their best interest (or their children’s) but I think getting the young woman arrested was a little extreme. I have been to LabCorp for employment drug testing, it is not a friendly environment, especially to bring a baby into. Maybe a helping hand from some “Good Samaritan” was in order in the beginning instead of calling the authorities later.
one reason why LabCorp probably didnt offer to watch the baby, is because she said she had someone in the car to watch the baby. That was not the truth, How were they to know she was lying? She needs to be held accountable for her own actions. That is the problem these days. Everyones mistakes, are blamed on everyone else. No responsibility.
bad situation. no way you can defend a mother leaving a baby unattended in a hot car with the doors unlocked. she was put in a bad situation by lab corp but; that is YOUR baby. it shows a lack of maturity and bad judgement. now the question is what to do with the baby?
I have to say that from personal experience that the Labcorp employees are pathetic. Like what one poster has already said, They walk around hating life and everything in it. Atleast thats the way they come off. This girl seems to have made a couple bad decisions. First, why would you even bring your child to lab like that? If you cant find a sitter then reschedule. Second, You NEVER leave a baby unattended in a car. I know she was trying to do good but being a responsible parent means making the right decision in tough situations. She failed here. It doesnt make her a bad person, just bad judgement. And to the people complaining that it took 20 minutes for the INNOCENT person to save the baby, Be happy that the person actually did a good deed and probably saved that baby’s life. Most people today would have just ignored the situation from the beginning and that would have been a crime.
Bad and sad on all partys, they need to be charged,even the witness…
To the unknown person.. I know them both personally also!!! The father DOES want something to do with his daughter. Te mother told him day before yesterday that he was not going to see the baby until they went to court! He loves that baby and wants to be in her life, but like I said the mother won’t let him see her like she should!!
Just to bring this part to light since noone has mentioned it yet;
She left the doors unlocked with the child inside with the A/C blowing hot air for at least 20 minutes! Would you be defending this woman if some pervert would have kidnapped, raped or killed the baby? I think not. This, thank God, had a decent outcome for the baby-only because someone else intervened. For all of you who are defending this young woman, would you feel the same way if it were your grandchild that was left in the car?
This is what happens when young kids have kids and do not have the mentality or maturity to take care of them. I am not condemning the mother but with the choices she made that day, she does not need to be raising a baby.
To the ones who are wondering why it took 20 minutes for the “rescue”..maybe these people were trying to be sure of the situation before they acted. There are too many crazy people in the world to just run up to a car and make a hasty decision before you know whats truly going on. I would have done the same thing. God Bless those people for being there at the right time! What if they didn’t act at all and this baby died from a heat stroke? I think we should all be thankful these people did what they did.
REGARDING:
“- – - if the court punishes that young woman then they should also punish each and every human in Labcorp at that location.”
Nope. Two separate things. It would have been nice if arrangements could be made there, but not their responsibility. Businesses aren’t required to have day cares for folks coming in off the street. If they say no children, they should be able to do that. Needles, chemicals, possibly fatal diseases in some patients, may not be a place for a child.
It was a bad situation for child and mother, no obvious intent to harm. I’m sure she meant well even if what she did would have done great harm. It was good of LabCorp that they stopped the child from suffering brain damage and/or death.
David thinking people need people
and children don’t need HIV
I personally work in a lab and we have mothers come in all the time with children. The only time we don’t allow the children to accompany the mother is if the mother is having X-Ray done or a urine drug screen, and if this situation comes up one of us in the lab are MORE THAN HAPPY to help the mother with the child for that. It is a shame that nobody at that facility would help the mother, and it has come down to this. Treat others the way that you would want to be treated.
LabCorp staff are very miserable people, I’ve been there a few times for job screening, and they’re ALWAYS very short, snide, and act is if they hate what they do.
It takes maybe 5min to get blood drawn, why couldn’t a member of the staff show some compassion and sit with the baby for 5min, even if the baby was in a carrier sat next to their desk to observe for a few moments?!
NO, it was much easier for them to tell this young mother to hit the road (less paperwork for them right?).
For those to say she must be there for drug testing… ya think? Maybe this young mother was getting a decent job to support herself and her baby. Maybe she did not have options like everyone else? And doing this blood screening was all she had to do to become a productive member of this crap society? So don’t assume, there are two sides of everything.
Seriously LabCorp, how many mothers come in with infants per week, alone? Would it have been so hard to let a member of the staff sit in the waiting room 5min? How many of your staff are mothers themselves? How would they have felt? I think LabCorp went about this all wrong. Now 2 people are suffering at their lack of compassion. Karma will repay your lack of heart.
I will also say this, she did lie to the people saying that someone would be with the baby in the car. That let the workers think the baby was being taken care of .
Even then, a worker could have brought the baby inside, while blood work was being done.
If the worker had time to go check, then she had time to hold.
It is a honor just to hold someone elses little one for a while.
I am very happy the baby is ok … Hopefully that is a lesson learned on the mothers part . Sad story . Just glad someone went to help the baby before it was too late .
I personally know the mother and father in this situation. The mother will not leave the child with the father for good reasons. Yes what she done was in poor judgement but all these people that are judging her do not have the right to judge and dont know the whole situation. She is a wonderful mom that like i said made a bad judgement but loves her daughter very much. If the father was involved like he should be then maybe this would not have happened. She was in fact at the Labcorp office for a mandatory drug test because she was trying to get a job to take care of her child, whom she solely supports. So like I said unless u know the whole story which you don’t, don’t be judging her. Isn’t that for God to do anyway?
The employees at labcorp are not babysitters … They have a job to do. If they did it for one then others would see and before u know it they are babysitting and not getting their job done .I agree she had a long drive but regardless you just don’t leave a 5 month old in the car alone especially with this heat even if it isn’t hot or cold you just can’t do that . It is not the emplyees fault or the witness . It lays on the mother . Bad decision on her part .
An error in judgement. I know we have ALL done things that we felt was ok at the time—when we look back on it—it was not the best choose. Lab’s do not just check for drugs, so please do not try to make it sound as if she was on drugs (dope). I have to have my blood checked on regularly because of some of the med’s I’m on. If you are on a “blood thinner” you know where you’ll be every two to three weeks. Other heart med’s the same way. she made an error —but why couldn’t some one who saw what was going on offer to help? Some times it’s a sad world we live in.
I feel sorry for the girl. Someone could have offered to watch the baby until blood work was done. She may not have family around here. She may be new in the area. Her husband may have had to work. She may be alone. She DID at first take the baby with her. Society needs to keep the golden rule. There was a time, 20 years ago, I was in a new location with no family or friends and I did not know anyone. Now she has a record. She is young. You older folks and folks in the medical world should take it upon yourselves to help and teach her what is safe. She is a new mom and learning. I look at it this way. She WAS at the labCorp getting blood work done. She must have had insurance or able to pay, or else she would have been at the health clinic getting free gov That makes her a responsible citizen to pay her own bills and not depend on the government. YOU DO NOT KNOW HER CASE. QUIT JUDGING AND NEXT TIME, IF YOU SEE SOMEONE DOING THIS, OFFER TO HELP AND WARN OF THE DANGER.
I agree with the majority here, and if the court punishes that young woman then they should also punish each and every human in Labcorp at that location. It sounds like a set up. This story should be a national story, how embarassing for the employees inviolved that they aren’t human enough to help this young woman for a few minutes. Its outrageous. The person who brought it to everyones notice should be specifically punished for not offering to hold the baby for a few minutes. This is just plain outrageous.
Besides all that, didn’t they know that getting to hold a baby is a blessing? Its a magical feeling, there’s so much potential in that small bundle…….
What a disgrace……..
labcorp test blood for many things. Infections etc.
This might not have happened of she would let the babys father keep her while she goes and does whatever!!!! This is pitiful! I would have just made another appointment & made sure that my daughter was somewhere safe!!! We know her personally & I just can’t believe she would do this. Wait actually I can believe it. But she still should have had better judgement!
Shame on those who called the cops! I don’t agree with someone leaving a baby in a car, but This girl obviously felt like she had no choice…Maybe she was taking an employment drug screen. But the ones who called the cops were the very people who could’ve saved her from having such a desperate situation in the first place. There are a million ways she could’ve learned a lesson from this without involving the authorities. Some people just don’t have a heart.
Are you people that are commenting nuts? Whether it was hot or not, it’s illegal and just plain wrong to leave a 5 month old baby alone in a car for 20 minutes. That’s child abuse!!! How can you defend her actions?
I say again. I see no malice here. This article says that she moved the car to what shade she could find, and left the A/C on. Why, under these circumstances, did it take the lab 20 more minutes to draw the blood? Why didn’t someone offer to watch the baby? Why did someone watch for 20 mins and then tell? The whole thing sounds crazy to me. It also sounds like someone didn’t like this young woman, or they were just a very thoughtless group of people. If I needed to have blood drawn somewhere, I would not go to this place. I am sure this woman did not know the A/C was blowing hot air. I think that if this woman is punished, others should be too. It may not be in their job description to help people in this situation, but it is certainly in the job description of being a human being. I have heard many storiesof animals behaving more humanely. I hope that the court is not as callous as the other “players” in this drama.
To Mary,
I am sure she was getting drug tested, isn’t that what you normally do at Labcorp? That doesn’t mean she was a drug addict, maybe it was a new job she just got hired for or a jobs random drug test.
To EMD,
I agree, what harm would it be to leave the baby in the carrier by one of the desk/office workers to supervise? I know it’s not their job but wouldn’t it be the decent thing to do. Or the witness in the parking lot could have approached her and asked if she wanted her to watch the baby in the waiting area. I mean obviously they had the free time if they sat in the parking lot 20 minutes for the observation.
Not sure what this womans situation is, but sometimes you see no way out and do what you think is best… However, sometimes that is not good enough… She obviously was getting blood drawn for a reason and had a loong drive to get to LabCorp in Pensacola to get it… I totally agree with other posts here that say somebody, anybody needed to get a helping hand and that was not just calling the police… It almost reads like they knew she had nobody to watch the baby…
If someone would just help the young mothers out there this like this wouldn’t happen ,She could have been there to better herself for a JOB,,, People just help if you can,,,
Sad.
EMD Why didnt the MOTHER ask someone to watch the baby, do not blame these people for HER actions. Yep go get the baby and then get accused of trying to kidnap the baby. Better yet why did she not leave the child with a sitter?
wonder if she was getting drug tested…
I see no malice here. Only bad judgement and some unhelpful people. Why couldn’t the one who observed this situation for 20 minutes offer to hold the baby while the mother had her blood drawn? Why not someone who worked at the lab? What a callous society we live in! Things seem upside down and backwards. So glad the baby is ok. Hope it will be after FDCF has it for a while.
Lord, what is wrong with some people? How could she feel it was alright to leave a baby in a car alone? I thank God the baby didn’t die. Now can someone tell me why it took the witness 20 mins. to tell someone that the baby was alone in the car?
I’m sure this isn’t the first time someone has showed up with a baby and an accomedation could not be made. What did they want her to do, drive back to flomaton and then come back. Not saying what she did was right.
Why did the witness wait 20 minutes to say something?
Just sad all the way around:(