Mom charged after daughter left in hot car in DSS parking lot

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A baby is expected to recover after being left in a hot car Thursday outside the Department of Social Services in Cabarrus County, police said.

Officers responded to reports of a child in a hot car around 10:45 a.m. at the Cabarrus County Human Services Center on South Cannon Boulevard in Kannapolis.

Police said a witness saw the 12-month-old girl crying in the back seat of a car in the parking lot and told a county employee inside the building. A Cabarrus County deputy, who was working security there, was also notified. They went outside and were about to break the car’s window. Then, the girl's mother showed up, police said.

The child was taken to Atrium Health Cabarrus, where police said she was treated for heat exhaustion. She's expected to make a full recovery.

Her mother, 29-year-old Jennifer Pohl, has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse.

(Pohl)

Police said Pohl had gone to the center with her father-in-law to help him in seeking assistance.

Courtney Shoe happened to be driving by when this all happened.

"My heart literally stopped,” Shoe said. “I'm like, ‘I can't believe we are witnessing this firsthand.’"

Shoe said she won’t forget the face of the deputy working to wedge an object into the window to rescue the child.

"The scene afterwards was absolutely heart wrenching,” she said. "They were very concerned. You could see their faces, people running everywhere,” Shoe said.

She said police ran the license plate to get the mother's name.

"She was just saying, 'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I'm so sorry,’” Shoe said.

Shoe said the mother ran out and unlocked the door, and she heard the baby screaming.

"The sound of the cry was absolutely horrible. You can hear the distress in the baby's voice,” she said.

This is the third reported case of a child being left in a hot car in our area in the past month.

Seth Alan Cuthbertson, 26, is facing child abuse charges after police said he left his daughter in the back seat of his car Saturday while he went inside an Aldi in Shelby to grab groceries.

[ALSO READ: Father charged after toddler left in hot car outside Shelby grocery store]

Dawn Broecke, 42, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after her foster son was found on Aug. 29 inside a car at the McMullen Creek Shopping Center in Pineville while she was at work.

He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Channel 9 learned that 37 children have died in hot cars this year nationwide, two in North Carolina.

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