Tennessee firefighters, off-duty nurse break windows to save baby locked in hot car

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A Tennessee woman is facing multiple charges after authorities said she left her 5-week-old baby locked inside a hot SUV.

The Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department said 27-year-old Alexandria Lee was arrested in connection to the case.

The department said a call came in from a concerned citizen at a grocery store parking lot on June 13 around 5:15 p.m. EDT.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and found a parked SUV with its engine turned off. Crews broke the windows to get to an infant strapped in a car seat.

Firefighters said the baby was underneath blankets, sweating and barely breathing.

The SUV was not running, and the infant had been inside the hot car for about 20-minutes,” said Firefighter Tyson Donaldson, who also noted that the outside temperature was 97 degrees at the time, with a heat index of 108 degrees. “Our number one priority was to get the baby out of the hot car as soon as possible.”

The baby was immediately placed in a police cruiser with cool air conditioning, as crews provided medical care. That's when an off-duty NICU nurse, Melissa Nicholson, approached and offered to help.

Without a doubt, the beautiful baby is still on this earth, thanks to concerned citizens, emergency personnel, and the off-duty nurse," said Donaldson.

According to the fire department, a half-empty opened bottle of tequila was found in the car.

Authorities said an officer observed Lee standing outside the locked SUV. She was swaying to keep her balance and appeared "to be spaced out."

Lee was charged with driving under the influence and aggravated child neglect/abuse. She's being held on a $51,500 bond at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.

A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, the baby is now seven weeks old and expected to make a full recovery, according to authorities.

We want to remind parents not to leave children or animals unattended in a hot car,” said Assistant Chief Medical Services Jeff Wright. “It is not only dangerous, but potentially deadly with the extreme temperatures we’ve been experiencing.”