Deputy rescues sweating toddler in hot car with temperatures above 90 degrees outside

CLARK COUNTY, Wash. (Gray News) - A sheriff’s deputy rescued a toddler who was left in a hot car while temperatures outside were over 90 degrees.

According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Hulsey responded to a 911 call after witnesses reported a small child was alone in a parked vehicle.

While waiting for deputies to arrive, witnesses gathered around the vehicle to try to create shade.

The outside temperature was 92 degrees. The engine was off and only a rear window was left slightly cracked.

When Hulsey arrived, he found a 2-year-old child strapped into a car seat, sweating heavily with his head tilted to the side and not responding.

Hulsey broke the vehicle’s window, removed the child from the vehicle, put him in an air-conditioned patrol car and had him evaluated by medics.

According to investigators, the toddler had been left alone in the hot vehicle for about 16 minutes. By the time deputies found the parents, they had been inside a grocery store for almost 30 minutes.

The parents both face reckless endangerment charges.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said a parked car can become “dangerously hot” within minutes, even with a window cracked.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 31 children died from vehicular heatstroke in the United States in 2025.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said anyone who ever sees a child or pet alone in a vehicle and believes they are in distress should never hesitate to call 911.