An East Northport woman was arrested Friday outside a Commack store for allegedly leaving her two children in a locked car in the extreme heat, Suffolk County police said.
The kids—a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old—were both sweating “profusely, with flushed faces,” police said in a news release. Another shopper spotted the children inside the car with the windows closed in the Meat Farms parking lot and alerted a store employee, who then called 911, police said.
When police arrived, the mother, 49-year-old Maria Luongo-Devivo, had already returned to the car, police said. An investigation revealed that the children were locked inside the hot car for approximately six minutes, police said
The mother was arrested and charged with two counts of child endangerment.
The children were checked for health issues, but didn’t require further medical attention, police said.
Child Protective Services was notified about the incident, police said.
Luongo-Devivo was released on bail and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on August 1.
