Mom leaves 3 children in 112° car, facing child abuse charges, Dona Ana investigators say
CHAPARRAL, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office investigators charged 25-year-old Stephanie Diaz with child abuse after they say she left three of her children in a hot car. Another person, Oscar Villa, who told deputies that he is a friend of Diaz's, is also facing three counts of child abuse.
Court documents state Villa's car was parked outside the Stires Super Market at 304 McCombs in Chaparral on July 15. A witness called 911 to report the three children in the car. When the deputy arrived, he saw the 11 year-old, 6 year-old, and 8-month-old sitting in the car with the back windows down 6 inches, the driver side front window all the way down, and the car off. In the court document, the deputy reports seeing the children sweating and red-faced.
The deputy did not know how long the children had been in the car by the time he arrived, however, he reports that it took 12 minutes for Diaz and Villa to walk out of the store and return to the car.
When another officer arrived to take the internal temperature of the car, the thermometer showed 112°, according to court documents. Villa reportedly told the deputy that his car's compressor was broken, so the A/C was not on. The incident happened at approximately 2:30 p.m. ABC-7 StormTrack meteorologists reported the temperature in Chaparral as 103° that day.
The deputy called for medical help for the children. When it arrived, Diaz allegedly refused to allow firefighters check the children. She also reportedly refused to allow the children to sit in the deputy's air conditioned car. The deputy called for the Children Youth and Family Department, which took the three children found in the car, as well as a fourth child who had been with Diaz in the store.
Officials took Diaz and Villa into custody and charged them both. They took Villa to the Dona Ana County Detention Center, but he has since been released.
