NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An investigation is underway after a toddler was found in a hot car in a parking lot in the Green Hills area.
The Nashville Fire Department responded to the parking lot around 6:00 p.m. Sunday in the covered parking garage by the Hill Center Shopping Center.
Police said a father left his two year-old inside the car for about 40 minutes, while he went shopping. Police said a concerned citizen noticed the child inside the car, with the doors locked and the windows up.
The fire department had to break into the vehicle to get to the child. The child was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center as a precaution.
The Department of Children's Services and Youth Services have taken over the investigation, according to Metro Police. It was unclear if the father will face charges.
According to Weather.com, the inside temperature of a car after 30 minutes heats up to 124 degrees if the outside temperature is 90. On Sunday, the average high was 95 in Nashville.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, there were 33 deaths of children who were left in cars during hot temperatures in 2011.
More than 50 percent of the children who died was the result of a caretaker forgetting the child was in the car. The Administration said 30 percent of those children got into an unlocked car on their own. Seventeen percent were left on purpose.
