Monday, September 15, 2014

Locked in a hot car.


Yes, this horrible and terrifying incident happened to me.


In the last post, I told you that we bought a new car. This car came with a keyless remote which means that as long as you have the keys somewhere near you such as your purse or pockets, you have the convenience of starting the engine with a touch of a button.

One afternoon, sometime two weeks ago or so Tealyn and I went to Wal-mart. I just needed a few things, so I thought It would take me less than 30 min and it did.

As I was walking back to the car I could hear a car alarm ringing the closer I got the more it sounded like my vehicle. When I finally approached my car I turned off the alarm with the keys and I threw them in the diaper bag. I opened the door and put the baby in along with the two Wal-mart bags and the diaper bag. I strapped her in and shut the door.

This is when my nightmare began:

I went to open my door and it was locked! I tried opening the back doors all were locked mind you, this is in the middle of the afternoon in South Texas. The heat is unbearable 100 plus temperatures, and my baby is locked inside. I go into panic mode.

(Just typing this sends me right back to that place)

I start screaming my legs turn to jello, I am so scared I lose my voice. No one is listening to me I am literally on the ground I can't feel my legs. I am crying and shaking for someone anyone to help.  

Finally, after what seems an eternity 3,4, 5 minutes I don't know. A man and his wife drive by and see me in my desperation on the floor screaming. The man doesn't ask he already knows from the look on my face that there is a baby in my back seat.  He asks me " where is the baby" by this point I can hardly speak from all the crying I  just point to the side window.  He then takes a crow-bar and asks if It's okay to break my window?. I tell him to please do what he has to.

He breaks my window!



And there is glass everywhere on my seat, on the dashboard and floor board , I don't care he somehow unlocks the door and I open the back door to see if baby is okay. She is just a little rosy. I give her a bottle that had some juice.

I praise God!

I thank and give him a hug all while crying. He continues to clean my car with a small broom . (I don't know where that came from) 

By this time there is already a small crowd gathered just staring at me as if I am some type of lunatic who left my baby behind deliberately. 

I leave the Wal-mart parking lot with a broken window, crying and in disbelief of what had just transpired. I call my husband from the car's bluetooth connection. No answer. I call again, and again, and again, no answer. I call my sister, I am still shaking and when she answers, I just break down even more. I tell her what just happened and to keep calling my husband. I get home and take baby out who is  now sleeping,  put her down, and just literally fall apart.

My husband finally reaches me and tells me he is on his way home.  We call up the Cadillac dealership and explain to them what just happened and they apologize and explain  that when the alarm goes off it causes the vehicle to go into panic mode and locks all the doors a sort of safety feature. I didn't know this. Had my key's been on me or with me when I shut the door I would have prevented this. They said it was a matter of changing the settings.

We fixed the window and changed the settings. It no longer locks unless I lock it with the key's remote. 

I completely forgot I had OnStar and well, I didn't have the app installed on my phone either.

Lesson learned.

I thank God for the couple that stopped and helped. I pray that this never happens to anyone. It is by far the scariest thing I have been though. And for a while I kept feeling guilty for not paying enough attention to where my keys were.

 I truly feel there should be some type of warning when you buy vehicles with keyless remote entry. Especially when you have precious babies.










  




28 comments:

  1. Oh, you poor thing! What a nightmare! I had a similar experience years ago (though my car didn't have keyless start). I put my baby in the carseat, the diaperbag/purse in the car, threw my keys on the driver's seat, and only realized after I manually locked (this was back in the old days, where you had to actually push each door lock individually) and shut the door to go around to the driver's side, that I hadn't unlocked the driver's side door. Fortunately, we were living in Washington at the time, so the temperatures weren't blazing hot. However, my baby was on an apnea monitor and I was so panicked that he would have an episode before I could get the door opened. The security guard at the parking structure was able to slim jim the car door open quickly, and all was well. I still remember that feeling of utter panic, though.

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  2. Oh my goodness! Thank God for the couple that came along and the man's quick thinking. So thankful that Tealyn was OK. I have never heard of that kind of remote and I definitely don't want it. God was certainly watching over you.

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  3. so glad they came by and had the tools to help! bless you! very traumatic!

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  4. Oh my goodness, Marissa. I was shaking just reading what you went through...can't even imagine. Thank God He put that couple in your path.

    ~Blessings,
    Jan

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  5. Omg I am crying while reading this - those people were guardian angels I am certain of this I am so happy Tealyn was fine...Thank God ..for sure- I'm like you I would be the same then fall apart when its over. I hope you are okay I am certain Tealyn is fine Take care XOXO

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  6. Wow - what a terrifying time for you. We just have to thank God that all turned out good. You are a good mommy Marrisa and never forget that. Continuing blessings to you and your precious daughter.

    Pat

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  7. Marissa, I do know how panicked you were. I had the same thing happen to me when my oldest was just two(I was pregnant with my baby girl). We had a Honda and somehow the very same thing happened to me; we were in a bad area and although my daughter could get out of her car seat-she had a heavy coat on so was stuck. I finally ran inside a store and a nice man came out and was able to break into the car without breaking a window. So very thankful that your sweet baby girl was ok. Sending you big hugs today.
    Noreen

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  8. OHM Marissa, such a scary story. So glad you got your baby girl out and thanks to that couple who assisted you. Lessons can be so hard sometimes. Blessings, Linda

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  9. Don't beat yourself up. It could have happened to anyone. I actually had my door looked on me once (with a different car and before I was even married) and since then everytime I exit the vehicle, I keep the door open or slightly open. It has also became a habit that I open my driver door first and as I put the kids inside I crank up the car (ac or heat) even before I get inside. That said, I would have panicked as well. So sad to hear that no one is paying attention. It could have been anything. Glad everything was fine and the baby was unharmed. You are a good mom!!!

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  10. How scary. I put my baby in the car and with my keys inside. It was a long time ago. It was so strange that I had for one found a place so close to the front of this medical center. Then another person was lucky as well to park a couple rows behind me. Almost as soon as it happened this person helped me. My VW bug has locked itself before. Once with the motor running.....no babies inside. So scary. Yours should not have done that. Hope what you did solved the problem.

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  11. Thank you all very much!! I hope this helps someone out there when they are buying a car.

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  12. Marissa, that is so scary. I know how hot you get down there and that it only takes moments in a very hot car for everything to go very bad. I am so sorry you had to go through this, but so glad you posted it to warn others. There are many on us out here that are grandparent age and with the new technology that's out there, it sure isn't like it was when we were raising our kids. The only thing we had to worry about were the automatic door locks. I got into the habit of opening my door first and then putting them in the back with my door open the whole time. Didn't matter if it was pouring rain or freezing cold. That door stayed open until I got in. I think the dealership failed big time here. They should have asked if you had children and what ages, walked you through all the features on it and recommended settings that would be better for you. I hope they learned from this, too. Another thing you might do is start the vehicle with your remote and then when you put Tealyn in, before you close her door is roll the window half way down. Then when you are in and ready to go, you can roll her window back up. That way you could always reach in and open the door and get to her. So, so scary.

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  13. One of God's angels on the ground... that man. Yep. SOOOO glad everything turned out okay. {{{big hugs}}} and blessings ~ tanna

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  14. Oh how scary for you!!!! I'm glad your little one (and you) are ok xx

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  15. Hi Marissa,

    SO very sorry you had to go through this traumatic experience with your precious baby!!! BUT, glad you are okay, and thank God for that wonderful and considerate man and his wife!! It's good that you wrote about this to warn others. Don't be too hard on yourself, for, in such situations, many people cannot think straight due to panic. Praise God, indeed.

    Hugs to you and Tealyn,

    Poppy

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  16. I'm squalling, just reading about your terrible ordeal. I am so so thankful for the angels God sent you to break that window. Thank you, God....
    A few years back, I was living close to a shopping center...I went to one of the stores there one day and there were police cars, ambulances,firetrucks every where. I told hubby when I got home that something was going on in the shopping center but didn't know that a lady, forgetting she had her baby with her (her hubs always took the baby to day care ) and she got out, locked her car and worked all day. When she went to pick up her baby (she always did this), they said but, your baby isn't here. The mom ran out to the car and her sweet little darling was dead. I cried for a solid month over it and now, I'k crying again.
    talk later

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    1. SAD! It happens more and more . We need to slow down and pay more attention to what we are doing . A lot of the times we are going 100 miles per hour in our daily lives that we forget to pay attention to what really matters. Just sad! Yes, I thank God for surrounding me with these people.

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  17. How frightening!! So thankful that God sent you someone who could break the window. So glad your sweet girl is fine!

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  18. My goodness! What an awful experience! At least it had a happy ending. We had a terrible incident here a few years ago where a dad accidentally left his baby in a hot car with tragic results. My heart still goes out to the family involved! I don't think one ever gets over something like that. Your baby is so gorgeous! x Sharon

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  19. I've run that situation through my mind several times while playing the what if game and deciding how I would handle it. I can't imagine actually being in that situation though. I'm so happy that she was okay and that you had people come to your aid. She is beautiful!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

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  20. My gosh Marissa ~ I can't imagine!!!! I'm so glad that you found help and that your little cutie was ok. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeesh.

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  21. Oh what a horrible thing to happen I can't imagine the panic you felt. Those were angels who stopped to help you. I have a granddaughter named Tailyn, your daughter is the first one I've heard of with a similar name. Glad she is OK. Thanks for your comment on my blog.

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  22. Accidentally locking your baby inside the car is one the most terrifying experiences you can have. Thankfully, there was a couple nearby who was able to help you. Also, that your dealership were able to explain to you what happened, made the certain changes for it to be avoided, and replaced your car windows. At least, this day did not end as bad as it would've. Take care!

    Jaime Mcgee @ Michael's Auto Body and Glass

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  23. Oh my goodness, I just saw this post and it scared me to death! I know it scared you! Thank God all is well.

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  24. I have heard of these "safety" features...so glad that everything worked out and how wonderful that you had a Good Samaritan.

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  25. Woah! It's obviously dangerous to accidentally lock-out a baby inside car. Good thing that there are people nearby who were there to help. I hope that’s the last time something like that will ever happen to you. Take care! :)

    Victoria Robbins @ Diviniti Auto

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  26. I am so sorry this happened to you. I can not even imagine that happening to me. And I am sure your daughter was just fine but the worry that it creates is staggering. I have locked my dog in the car and that was bad enough. It was summer and we did end up waiting until the repairman arrived.

    Earl Mark @ Eastway Lock

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Thank you very much for your comments!

I can be reached at MarissaSanchez100@Yahoo.com