HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A mother and father are accused of leaving their small child inside a hot car parked outside a restaurant while the couple dined inside.
Brenda Hurtado and Antonio Hurtado are both charged with child endangerment.
Someone walking by the car in the parking lot of The Boat restaurant in the 2400 block of West FM 1960 noticed the child inside and called 911. When Precinct 4 deputies got there, medics had already arrived and pulled the child out of the car.
"Initially the kid was unresponsive, just totally unresponsive and sweating. At some point a female did come running out of the sports bar and said, 'That's my child, that's my child!'" Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said.
The Hurtados told investigators they'd left the child sleeping in the car with the window cracked while they went to eat. Herman said that's still under investigation.
"They gave several different reasons, but the bottom line is there is no reason for a kid to be in a vehicle with the windows up any time," Herman said. "We're currently in the process of getting video surveillance of that area to determine exactly how long the child was in there. We were told 45 minutes, but we're still trying to confirm that and figure out exactly what they were doing there."
The child was checked out and rehydrated at the scene and Child Protective Services was notified.
The child is now living with relatives. A protective order has been issued to restrict access by parents.
Bond for the Hurtados was set at $1,000 each.