Baby rescued after hour in van

Home Depot employees and an off-duty paramedic shopping at the store cared for the 5-month-old, who showed signs of heatstroke.

By ED QUIOCO

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 3, 2000

PALM HARBOR -- After a passer-by heard whimpering, an off-duty paramedic and store employees rescued a 5-month-old baby left for more than an hour in a hot minivan Sunday afternoon.

Austin Neel was lethargic and had stopped sweating -- a sign he was near heatstroke -- when he was pulled from the van parked at Home Depot on U.S. 19 at Curlew Road, said Kevin Douthett, a Sunstar paramedic who was shopping there Sunday.

Austin's mother, Kerry Neel of Palm Harbor, told deputies she was shopping at the store and forgot Austin was in the vehicle. Neel, 28, who told deputies she was a licensed home day care worker, was charged with felony child abuse.

"We all have oversights, but this one could have turned out to be real tragic," said sheriff's Sgt. Greg Tita. "Between transporting kids back and forth, picnics, the hot summer sun and everything else that's going on, parents need to make sure they are extraordinarily aware of their children."

Austin was treated at Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor and was turned over to his father, Tita said.

Tita said the outcome could have been tragic if not for Douthett.

Douthett and his wife had just finished shopping at the store and were walking to their car when they heard a commotion shortly after noon. Someone walking by the van, which had its windows closed, had heard the baby's whimpering, and a crowd had gathered.

A Home Depot employee then opened the unlocked van and cut the seat belt of Austin's car seat so Douthett could administer first aid.

"The child was hot to the touch and not sweating," said Douthett, who has been a paramedic for 20 years. "That's a very bad sign. The child needed to get out."

With the employees' help, Douthett used soaked towels to cool down the baby, and a store employee grabbed a large umbrella from a patio furniture display to shade the baby.

Employees used the store's intercom to try to page the baby's mother, said Eric Reale, Home Depot assistant store manager.

Neel of 4913 Ridgemoor Circle told deputies that she heard people talking about the incident while shopping at the store, but she didn't think that the child was her son. Eventually, she returned to her minivan and discovered what had happened. She told deputies she had been distracted by a cellular phone call from a friend and had forgotten about having Austin in the minivan.

Neel, who posted $5,000 bail Sunday night, could not be reached for comment.

Tita said that the investigation was continuing and that deputies would look into her day care work. Further details about it weren't available Sunday.

Leaving a child in a car can have deadly consequences. Temperatures in a closed vehicle can soar to 120 degrees and higher within minutes. A year ago, Sarasota grandparents accidentally left their 18-month-old grandchild in their car, and the child died from the heat. In June 1998, a 2-year-old girl from Dunedin wandered into her parents' minivan and died.

On Sunday, when temperatures reached the 90s, the incident could have turned tragic if not for the good Samaritans.

"They did what they needed to do right away," Reale said. "A lot of workers here are parents with young children. We have had a lot of distraught workers over this because it hit so close to home."

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