Deputies: Bystanders saved baby

Quick action by an off-duty paramedic and nearby store workers rescued the 5-month-old child from a van, authorities say. A thermometer placed in the van showed a temperature of 132 degrees, officials say.

By ED QUIOCO

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 4, 2000

PALM HARBOR -- As her husband loaded tiling supplies into their Jeep Sunday, SarahBeth Reeves was sure she heard a baby crying nearby and began to look around for the infant. Then the cries faded to whimpers, and Mrs. Reeves got more worried.

Peeking into the tinted rear window of a van in the next space, she saw the outline of a child car seat and tiny arms moving. It was noon and she had first seen the van about an hour before when she arrived at Home Depot.

"My God, there's a baby in that car," Mrs. Reeves, 47, said she thought. "I felt frantic. It was a little haunting."

"When I first heard it, you could tell it was a baby-needing-some-attention type of crying," she said. "The cries went from crying to whimpering. That's why I felt a desperate urgency."

An off-duty veteran paramedic, employees from the Home Depot at U.S. 19 and Curlew Road and customers rescued 5-month-old Austin Neel at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Austin's mother, who told police she was a licensed home day care worker, was charged with felony child abuse.

On Monday, Kerry Neel, 28, voluntarily gave up her temporary permit to have a day care at her home at 4913 Ridgemoor Circle in East Lake, said Kathy Mulrennan, program manager at the Pinellas County License Board for Children Centers and Family Day Care Homes.

Neel told deputies that she had forgotten Austin was in the van and had heard about a baby locked in a van while shopping for plants at the store.

Neel could not be reached for comment, but she told deputies that "mother's intuition made me start running to the car. I should have had mother's intuition when I left my child in my car."

The investigation is continuing, Tita said. Investigators will look into Neel's day care later this week. Neel told deputies and county license board staff that she had one child in her home day care.

Because she turned over her temporary permit, Neel no longer can care for children other than relatives at her home, Mulrennan said. License board staff probably will make a follow-up visit to make sure she no longer has a day care at her home.

The sheriff's office credits the good Samaritans for rescuing the baby from the hot van. The rescuers also helped deputies build their case against Neel.

A Home Depot employee placed a thermometer from the store in the van, sheriff's Sgt. Greg Tita said. When investigators arrived about 17 minutes later and took a picture, it read 132 degrees.

"Good thinking on his part," Tita said. "We got a lot of witnesses and a lot of people got involved so we are able to substantiate a fairly good felony charge against her."

Other store employees grabbed makeshift first-aid supplies as Kevin Douthett, an off-duty paramedic, quickly worked to cool down Austin. One store employee grabbed a large umbrella from a patio furniture display to shade Austin. Others grabbed towels, ice and water.

The Reeveses said Austin was lucky Douthett was nearby.

"That baby has a guardian angel," SarahBeth Reeves said. "(Douthett) just appeared out of nowhere. Everything he did was exactly right."

Douthett said Sunday night that he was just doing what he was trained to do.

According to a Sheriff's Office report, Austin was lethargic, hot to the touch and had blisters on his forehead when he was rescued.

"He was red from his head to his toes, like a ripe, red tomato," said Clint Reeves, 45.

Austin was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor and was released to his father Sunday night.

Mrs. Reeves said that although it was disturbing to see a 5-month-old baby suffering after sitting in a hot van for more than an hour, it was uplifting to see bystanders do whatever they could to help.

"Things were happening so fast and so many people did the right thing at the right time," Mrs. Reeves said. "That baby had so many people who cared about him and were willing to give their time and effort instead of just walking away and not getting involved. It was incredible to see."

The Reeves parked next to the van by accident. Usually, Clint Reeves prefers to park away from the rest of the cars in a parking lot. But Sunday, he parked with the rest of the cars next to the van because his wife had fussed at him that she didn't feel like walking from a far parking space.

The couple, who live in Crystal Beach, shopped for supplies to repair a broken tile in a bathroom on Sunday. About an hour later, they were loading the materials in the Jeep. As Clint Reeves worked to fit the materials in the Jeep, his wife heard the muffled cries.

About five to eight minutes later, she still heard the cries. But they were getting faint.

She ran to the store for help. A Home Depot employee opened the driver's-side door of the van and another cut the seat belt to free the car seat.

SarahBeth Reeves, who is the mother of two grown sons, said it was difficult seeing a baby who had been kept in a hot van for so long.

"I'm a mother of two and it made me cry," she said. "It was very disturbing."

- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or at quioco@sptimes.com.

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