It was 104 degrees in Texas on Saturday afternoon when a Lakeway mom locked herself inside a truck with her 10-year-old son.
According to KXAN, 34-year-old Adriane Moss soon became incapacitated inside the hot truck, which wasn’t running.
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As the car continued to heat up, her panicked son called 911 and told them that she was passed out in the front seat. But police heard her speak during the call. According to the affidavit:
According to Lakeway Dispatch, the 10-year-old asked his mother to roll down the windows, while on a recorded 911 line, and she replied “no.”
When police arrived, they found the boy with “sweaty and matted hair.” He said the car had been parked in the heat for about an hour with the windows rolled up.
Temperatures inside the car had reached potentially fatal levels, according to the affidavit:
It is believed that the interior of the vehicle was in excess of 123 degrees when officers arrived on the scene.
Officers removed the boy and his mother from the car. Moss “stumbled” and police “detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from [her].”
She has since been arrested and charged with abandoning or endangering a child.
According to a recent study, 30 to 60 children die each year from heat-related causes when locked in cars. Fatality occurs when the body heats up to 104 degrees and doesn’t cool down.
Biometeorologist Jennifer Vanos told USA Today:
“This body temperature could be fatal to infants and children — and those who survive may sustain permanent neurological damage.”
It takes roughly an hour for a car to heat up to fatal temperatures on a hot day.
Police have not revealed the mother’s motive in this case, or if it was related to drinking.
Moss will head to court next month and is currently free on bond.
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