NC Officers Smash Window to Rescure Baby from Hot SUV

Morganton (NC) Department of Public Safety officers smashed a vehicle window to rescue an infant Tuesday afternoon after the child was apparently locked in the vehicle by accident and the mother couldn't open the door.

Around 5 p.m., public safety responded to a call about a child locked in a vehicle in a store parking lot. With temperatures nearing 90 degrees, it made for a potentially dangerous situation, Lt. G.F. Massey told Morganton.com .

After an unlocking kit officers used proved to be ineffective, the officers broke the driver’s seat window in the white Chevrolet SUV to unlock the doors and rescue the child, a little girl who officers estimated to be about 6 months old. Massey said in total, the baby was locked in the car for about five minutes.

Zachary Chiz, who was shopping at O’Reilly Auto Parts in the same retail center, learned of the situation when a woman he said was the child’s mother came into the store distraught, saying her child accidentally had become locked in the car. He said the woman’s key fob wouldn’t work, so he bought a new battery to go in the fob. When the fob still wouldn’t work, he attempted to break the glass himself before officers arrived.