Lufkin Child Left in Car, Driver Arrested

According to a post on their official Facebook page, Lufkin Police Department officers responded to a call about a young child left alone inside a vehicle Sunday afternoon. Officers arrived on the scene in the 100 block of North Timberland Drive in Lufkin around 12:30 PM.

Lufkin Police Break Window To Rescue Child

They found a little girl under the age of five, unresponsive to knocks on the windows of the vehicle. Upon realizing the child was not alert, officers entered the vehicle by breaking out the driver's side window.

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LPD Officers Explain How This Happened

During the investigation, officers found that the child had accidentally been left unattended in the vehicle for approximately 5 hours. According to LPD, the driver and other family members went to Houston for a sporting event.

Keep Reading: Felony Arrests In Angelina County March 21 - 29

The group was to meet in the parking lot and all get into one vehicle for the trip. The plan was for the young child to be dropped off with other family members who were staying in Lufkin.

The person driving the vehicle forgot the child was still inside and did not drop her off. The driver was taken into custody by the Lufkin Police Department. They were then booked into the Angelina County Jail on charges of abandonment of a child with intent to return.

Safety Reminder From The Lufkin Police Department

Lufkin Police Department would like to use this as an early warning of how this could have turned out for this little girl. Check the back seat, and tell your friends with big families to double-check.

As temperatures begin to heat up here in Deep East Texas, leaving children in locked cars could lead to heatstroke and even death.