Ly Thien Pham, 40, is charged with child abuse after allegedly leaving a young child in a hot car, per reports
Pham is an Uber Eats driver who was picking up an order before allegedly forgetting where she had parked her car
The child was found in the car sweating, according to a report
A Florida woman is accused of leaving a young child in a hot car for nearly 30 minutes while she picked up an Uber Eats order.
Ly Thien Pham, 40, was arrested in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday, July 19, after the child was found, according to reports from WFLA and WTSP.
Pinellas County court records indicate that Pham is charged with third-degree child abuse. It is not immediately clear whether she has entered a plea.
Citing an arrest warrant, the outlets reported that Pham is an Uber Eats driver and that she had parked outside a restaurant in St. Petersburg to pick up a delivery order.
But after leaving the restaurant, she allegedly said she had forgotten where she had parked, the outlets reported.
Per WTSP, St. Petersburg police found the child sweating inside the vehicle. The outlet, citing police, reported that Pham had turned her hazard lights on but did not leave the air conditioner on.
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The child was reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment.
Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department, emphasized the seriousness of the charges.
“These are child abuse charges,” Fernandez told the outlet. “These are very serious charges, very serious for her to have to deal with this. Even though she claims that she didn't mean to do it, that she thought she was just going to run in and out, pick up the food delivery and go.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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