18-Month-Old Found Alone in Car in YMCA Parking Lot

Despite the many warnings and tragedies this summer surrounding leaving children and other living things locked in a car for extended periods of time, Bethel police were called to reports of another infant found alone in a car on a hot day.

Police responded to the YMCA on Grassy Plain Street shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday after receiving reports of a child left unattended in a car in the parking lot.

According to police, the mother, 31-year-old Madai Cervantes, of Danbury, left the 18-month-old boy in the car seat while taking her 5-year-old to class at the YMCA.

Cervantes said she also tried to get paperwork to enroll the 18-month-old. While waiting for the secretary, she lost track of time, leaving the baby in the car for around 18 minutes.

The outside temperature Wednesday morning was around 65-66 degrees, however Cervantes had left the windows down and the child was not in danger of suffering heat stroke, police said.

Officers also noted in their report that the parking lot is “set back off the main roadway and is busy with other parents dropping off their children.”

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) was notified, since the 18-month-old was left alone for almost 20 minutes.

While investigating, Bethel police also discovered that Cervantes did not have a valid driver’s license and she was issued an infraction.