Posted on: December 24, 2024, 08:49h.
Last updated on: December 24, 2024, 08:49h.
Two adults were apprehended this week after they were accused of leaving a child unattended in a cold vehicle at Pennsylvania’s Parx Casino.
The six-year-old girl was in the parked Honda CRV for about 45 minutes while the adults were inside the Bensalem, Pa. gaming property on Monday morning, according to local police.
The unnamed girl was identified as the daughter of the two adults, the Bucks County Courier Times, a regional news outlet, reported.
A casino security guard had located the two adults. They were gambling at table games, the Courier Times reported. The guard was leading them back to the Honda.
The adults were identified as To Yeung and Chunyahn Wang, both 44, and both from Brooklyn. N.Y. Each was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Pennsylvania State Police were notified about the girl at about 11 a.m. on Monday. It appears that casino security guards initially spotted the girl.
Officials later placed the girl with unspecified relatives, according to Pennsylvania TV station WPVI.
Following their arrests, Wang and Yeung appeared on Monday before Bucks County Magisterial District Court Judge Joseph Falcone.
Both defendants posted $3K bonds. They were released from custody. Their cases were turned over to local prosecutors.
While the girl was alone in the car, the vehicle’s engine was turned off even though the outdoor temperature was in the low 20s and winds were measured at 8 mph in Bensalem, according to online weather sites.
Girl Escapes Injury
The girl wasn’t injured or suffering from cold-related ailments, according to news reports. But even so, a child left in a cold car can sometimes cause the youngster to suffer from hypothermia, according to a Mayo Clinic website.
The first sign of hypothermia is when someone begins to shiver due to the body temperature dropping. More serious symptoms can follow as core body temperature drops below 95 degrees.
Both the heart and respiratory system eventually can malfunction due to the lower body temperatures. Left untreated, a patient suffering from the ailment can die.
Prior Incidents
In recent years, adults in Pennsylvania and other states have left children alone in cars parked at gaming properties. Sometimes, it was on cold days and other times it was on hot days.
The adults in these cases typically were investigated and charged for putting the children at risk.
