Crime & Safety

Police: Patchogue Parents Left 3 Kids in Running Car While Shopping

Parents shopped at Marshalls for an hour while their three children were inside a running car.

Two Patchogue parents shopped at Marshalls for an hour Sunday evening while their three children, including a 6-month-old baby, sat in a running car in the parking lot, police said. 

Police said Fifth Precinct officer Marc Sforza responded to a 6:22 p.m. call in which a witness reported young children crying in an unattended vehicle that was parked in the Gateway Plaza parking lot located at 499 Sunrise Highway North Service Road in Patchogue.  

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When he arrived on the scene, Sforza saw a 6-month-old boy, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy in a 2012 Hyundai Accent, which was unlocked and running at the time, police said.  

The children had been in the vehicle for about an hour before the parents returned from shopping at the Marshalls located in the shopping center, police said.  The outside temperature was about 31 degrees at the time of the incident, police said. 

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Donald Hayes, 33, and Sarah Hayes, 34, both of Patchogue, were arrested and charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. 

Both are scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday.

 


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