NJ dad charged after 6-month-old found crying in sweltering parked vehicle

☀️A father left his 6-month-old son inside a parked SUV

☀️Temperatures were near 80 at the time

☀️The temperature inside the SUV can be 20-40 degrees higher

ROCHELLE PARK — An infant was left alone in a parked SUV with the window open Sunday afternoon as temperatures hit the 80s, according to police.

The cries of the boy coming from a parking lot on Rochelle Avenue got the attention of a passing pedestrian who called police, according to Rochelle Park police. The boy was sitting in a rear-facing car seat with the windows open and an idle engine.

After police removed the child from the car his father, Jamal Martin, 46, arrived back to the SUV.

The boy was taken to a hospital as a precaution and the Division of Child Protection and Permanency was called to meet with the family. Martin was released and issued a complaint summons for child neglect.

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Mother's Day marred

Sunday was Mother's Day and was one of the few nice days this spring.

"The weather station at nearby Teterboro Airport reported a high temperature of 79 degrees. After just one hour, the interior temperature of a car can be 20 to 40 degrees hotter," New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said.

A child left in a vehicle in New Jersey died earlier this year. There were two reported deaths in 2024.

Police found an infant "in distress" around 1:45 p.m. on March 18 on 5th Street in Lakewood.  The body was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where he was pronounced dead. His father, Moshe Ehrlich, 35, turned himself in to Lakewood police the next day.

The outdoor temperature was 67.8 degrees that day but 96.2 degrees inside the vehicle.

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