According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, police said Shantrell Mitchell, 32, of Lauderhill, claimed that she forgot about the girl Tuesday afternoon after parking outside a BJ's Wholesale Club in Fort Lauderdale. The child remained in her car seat from 12:36 p.m. to 3:38 p.m. while Mitchell shopped inside the store, authorities said.
When Mitchell came back to the car, her daughter showed signs of heat exhaustion, the arrest report said. Mitchell then "poured iced tea on the victim child's head and also had her drink some," according to the report.
Authorities responded after a BJ's employee called 911, the Sun Sentinel reported. The girl, whose body temperature was 105 degrees, was suffering from convulsions when paramedics arrived, officials said.
The girl's condition "drastically improved" at a nearby hospital, according to the newspaper.
Although Mitchell said she accidentally left the child in the car, authorities believe that her actions were intentional. Surveillance video showed the woman exiting the vehicle, then opening and manually locking the back door, police said.
On Thursday, police arrested Mitchell and charged her with aggravated child abuse. She was jailed on $10,000 bond.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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