Stranger Smashes Window to Save Toddler Trapped in Hot Car

A two-year-old girl who was locked in a steaming-hot car and is alive today thanks to Sarah Oropeza who sprung into action when a teenage co-worker of hers at Famous Footwear, in Merriam, Kansas screamed for help. The mom of two frantically tried to break the car’s window after she saw the toddler inside, drenched in sweat on the 110-degree day.

“The windows were totally rolled up, all the doors were locked. She was covered in sweat,” Oropeza told KCTV about the little girl trapped inside. “When I looked in the back window, she was covered in sweat. She had pulled her hair back and sweat was just dripping.”

Oropeza and her employee tried to find something to break the car window, but it wouldn’t crack. Another woman came with a screw driver to see if that would work, but again, no luck. But Oropeza refused to give up and took to the window with a tire iron. “Break the window, she’s going to die,” Sarah recalled repeating to herself through her tears. It took three agonizing minutes, but she finally got it to crack.

Oropeza said at least four women stepped up to try and help her get to the toddler. Luckily, one of the women was a nurse who cared for the toddler under an ambulance arrived. When they got her out, Oropeza told news channels, “Her shoes were wet, her socks were wet. I just started crying.” Cops also bought diapers since the little girl was in need of a change.

It turns out the child’s caregivers that day were her uncle and aunt, who were visiting a store in the area. The couple was ticketed for child endangerment and are considering laying charges. It’s reported that they told authorities that they left the little girl unattended for four minutes.

The child’s father is extremely grateful to her rescuers and said his daughter thankfully is doing fine.

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