CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Metro Detroit woman is facing charges after leaving her children and niece inside a hot car at the Meijer store in Clinton Township, police said.
Rose Allen Jenkins, a mother of five, said it's pretty straightforward: Leaving children inside a locked car is just something nobody should do.
“No," Jenkins said. "That’s insane. It just kind of astounds me."
Police said the woman left her two children and her niece -- ages 6, 4 and 2 -- in the car while she went inside to go shopping.
Officials said she parked the car at 8:40 a.m. Sunday, got out at 8:44 a.m. and went into the store. She didn't return to the car until 9:09 a.m., almost a half-hour later, police said.
“We were really starting to feel the heat coming on in the morning," Local 4 meteorologist Brandon Roux said. "It was low to mid-80s. The heat index was closer to 90."
Police said someone saw the children in the car and called police. All three children were sweating, according to authorities.
The woman was arrested and is facing two counts of child neglect. She's only facing two counts because the third child is 6 years old, and child neglect only applies to children ages 5 and younger.
The woman was later released on $1,500 bail, but Jenkins said the mother deserved more than that.
“Parenting classes is a very good start, but I think maybe you need to dig deeper," Jenkins said. "Maybe somebody is not in the right for that to happen, because a mother’s instincts is above all. It can’t happen."