Police: Man Leaves 2-Year-Old Daughter in 120-Degree Car While Shopping

A Maryland man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he left his 2-year-old daughter inside a car while he shopped at a Huntington Marshalls store, police said. 

The girl was lethargic and not speaking when she was removed from the car after officers broke the window of the 2000 Nissan Frontier in the parking lot of the Big H Shopping Center, located at 839 New York Avenue, around 12:30 p.m., police said.  

A person walking through the parking lot had called police after hearing a child crying and noticing the girl inside the car, which was not running with its windows closed at the time, police said. 

The temperature inside the car was estimated to be 120 degrees, police said. 

MORE: Another Baby Dies In Another Hot Car: How This Happens And How To Prevent It

Ten minutes after police arrived, the girl’s father, Melvin Marroquin, returned to the vehicle after shopping at Marshalls, police said. 

Marroquin, 30, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second degree reckless endangerment. He will be held overnight at the Second Precinct and arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip.

The girl was taken to Huntington Hospital for evaluation and will be released to her mother. Suffolk County Child Protective Services was notified of the incident, police said.