Dad shops; boy, 4, left in hot car

Officers find and remove the boy. The Michigan man now faces neglect charges.

By JOHN FRANK, Times Staff Writer
Published October 4, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Thomas F. McCormick, 30, of Michigan was located inside a Lowe's store. He told officers the child was in the car for 45 minutes.

BROOKSVILLE - The father of a 4-year-old boy is facing charges of child neglect after he left his son strapped in a car seat inside an enclosed vehicle as he went shopping at a Lowe's store.

Brooksville police officers found the boy at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday sitting in the back seat of a 1999 Saturn with the engine off and the windows rolled up, according to an arrest report.

His father, Thomas F. McCormick of Jackson, Mich., bought a lawn trimmer at the Broad Street store and put it in the car before returning to the store, reports state.

Officers said the boy's eyes were closed and his head was tilted to the left side when they found him. His face was wet with sweat.

They knocked on the window, but the boy didn't respond, so an officer opened the unlocked doors and removed the child.

Reports state the boy's clothing was wet with sweat and he seemed lethargic. He was taken to Brooksville Regional Hospital for evaluation.

McCormick was located inside the store and arrested on a charge of child neglect.

Security tapes from the store show McCormick arrived at 1:33 p.m., about 20 minutes before officers arrived on the scene. The temperature outside was about 85 degrees.

McCormick told officers the child was in the car for 45 minutes. Officers detected alcohol on McCormick's breath, and he acknowledged he had been drinking for most of the morning.

Lisa Wallace of Brooksville parked next to McCormick as he was loading the lawn trimmer into the car. "I heard something whimperlike from a child, but I just went inside the store," she said.

The boy was turned over to a caseworker from the Florida Department of Children and Families at the hospital.

McCormick was taken to the Hernando County Jail, where he was being held Wednesday in lieu of a $25,000 bail.

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 352 754-6114.

[Last modified October 3, 2007, 20:32:40]