A mother has been arrested after she allegedly left her toddler in a freezing cold car while she had a ‘romantic rendezvous’ at a hotel.
Lillian Johnson, 38, was charged with first-degree child endangerment after she allegedly left her 20-month-old child ‘abandoned in a car’ parked car outside a bar and hotel in Healy, Alaska last week.
The child was found crying inside the vehicle, which police say was left off without heat and a window slightly cracked despite the temperature outside being 6F (-14C).
Paramedics removed the toddler from the car and treated them for ‘early stages of hypothermia’, before taking them to the EMS and fire department for further treatment.
Johnson, who was no where to be found, did not exit the hotel until after medics had already left with the toddler, according to Alaska State Police.
Hotel surveillance video allegedly shows that Johnson was inside the establishment for roughly 35 minutes before she came out to ‘check on the child’.
Initial investigation revealed that Johnson had ‘left her child in the car to have a romantic rendezvous with a guest at the hotel.’
Johnson was arrested, charged and taken to Fairbanks Correctional Center. State police have not provided an update on the child’s welfare.
Lillian Johnson, 38, was charged with first-degree child endangerment after she allegedly left her 20-month-old child ‘abandoned in a car’ parked car outside a bar and hotel in Healy, Alaska last week. She was remanded to Fairbanks Correctional Center (pictured)
Johnson allegedly went inside the hotel at 8.18pm on Tuesday, March 18, initial investigation revealed.
A Good Samaritan called 911 around 8.40pm after they heard a child crying in a vehicle parked in a lot in Healy, roughly 250 miles north of Anchorage.
‘The child was crying, the vehicle was off, with a window partly opened with outside temperatures at 6 degrees Fahrenheit,’ police said.
Medics with Tri Valley EMS removed the toddler from the car and provided treatment for hypothermia. After ‘no parent or guardian was immediately found’, paramedics transported the child to another facility for further treatment.
Johnson finally came to check on her toddler at 8.53pm, but by that point officials had already left with the child.
‘The child was treated for early stages of hypothermia,’ state troopers said.
‘Lillian was arrested for Endangering the Welfare of a Child 1st Degree and remanded to Fairbanks Correctional Center.’
Cold weather is also a major risk factor for hypothermia, which occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it and your body temperature drops below 95F (35C).
Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, meaning the person affected may not be able to think clearly or move well.
This makes hypothermia especially dangerous, because a person may not know that it’s happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.
