Clearwater Mom Leaves Tot in Car on 92-Degree Day

A Clearwater mom’s trip to a Target store ended with her arrest after Pinellas Park Police say she left her 19-month-old daughter inside her car while she cruised the store for 40 minutes Monday.

While the child is OK, the mother now faces child neglect charges, police say.

Police were notified about the baby in the car at the 7150 U.S. Highway 19 N. store late Monday afternoon by a paramedic who came across her in the parking lot, an email to media from the police department stated.

When police arrived, they determined the mom had been “inside Target for 40 minutes and explained to officers that her daughter was asleep when she arrived at Target and she didn't want to wake her up,” the email said. “The ground temperature during the incident was 92 degrees and with the humidity, it was 101.”

Vita Abramenkova, 35, was transported to the Pinellas County Jail. The baby was released to the custody of her father.

The danger of leaving anything living in a hot car has been well documented, as evidenced by a growing number of deaths across the country this summer. A Georgia man stands accused of using this method to kill his young son, while a Florida woman is in hot water for allegedly allowing her dog Waldo to die in a sweltering car. Firefighters have even made videos to document the dangers of being left in a hot car.