Young girls left ‘sweating profusely and crying’ in 140-degree car, cops say

SECAUCUS — Two young children had to be rescued from the back of a car where the temperature reached 140 degrees on Friday afternoon, according to police.

Secaucus Police said they responded to a call from the Restaurant Depot about the children just after 4 p.m.

Police chief Dennis Miller told NJ.com that the outside temperature was in the 80s when officers arrived around 4 p.m. and opened the locked door to free the girls, ages 2 and 4, who were "sweating profusely and crying" after having been inside the car an estimated 25 minutes. The girls were turned over to child protective services, and the car's driver was charged with endangering the welfare of children, Miller told NJ.com.

At the Lyndhurst weather station, located just across the Hackensack River from Secaucus, it was 84 degrees at 4 p.m. on Friday, according to NJ 101.5 chief meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

"Remember, we measure air temperature in the shade. So a car, in direct sunlight, acting like a greenhouse, could absolutely hit triple digits in a short period of time," Zarrow said.

Restaurant Depot is located in an industrial area and not a shopping center. It is normally open only to restaurants but has allowed  all shoppers during the coronavirus pandemic

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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