Fremont police have arrested a woman who left her two children in a parked car where the internal temperature had reached 107 degrees.
Police said Monday that Liao Sian, of Fremont, was arrested on suspicion of child neglect after her 2-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son were found inside a vehicle in a supermarket parking lot on Friday afternoon.
Sgt. Chris Mazzone said Gina Shelley and her husband spotted the two young children in the car outside a Safeway store at 3902 Washington Blvd. sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and called 911.
"The littler one was crying hysterically. I could see sweat on their face and dripping all over their head," Gina Shelley said.
Fremont police Sgt. Chris Mazzone says officers forced their way inside the car and removed the children, who were "sweating profusely."
The 2-year-old was weak from heat exhaustion.
Police said they don't know what might have happened if the children had spent more time inside the car.
When told that she just might have saved their lives, Shelley said she didn't think of herself as a hero. She said she was, "just a mom."
Both children were treated at the scene, given water and released to another family member.
Mazzone said officers found Sian inside the store and determined that she had left the children for more than half an hour.
"There's no good reason to leave children unattended in a car, especially on a hot day. A lot of parents are not aware what effect that could have," Lt. Clarise Lew said.
Mazzone said the woman told police that her children were asleep when they arrived at the store and she didn't want to wake them.
Police are reviewing surveillance video from the store to build their case against Sian. She was due in court Tuesday.
