Finleyville woman charged with leaving baby in car
A Finleyville woman was arrested Friday after she left her 5-month-old son in a parked vehicle outside the Washington County Courthouse, Washington police said.
Brittany Fodor, 25, of 273 Stone Church Road, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. She was arraigned by District Judge Robert Redlinger and placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond.
Police received a call at 12:45 p.m. stating that an infant was unattended inside a sport-utility vehicle with the engine turned off near the courthouse’s southern entrance. An officer brought the infant into his vehicle to warm him up and said he was shivering, had red spots on his cheeks and was visibly distressed. Police said the child was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a cotton hat and had a blanket covering his lower body. A long-sleeved pullover sweatshirt was lying next to the child in the rear passenger seat, police said.
Police estimated the infant was left unattended in the vehicle for 15 to 20 minutes while the temperature was 16 degrees. Ten minutes after police arrived, they said Fodor ran to her car, yelling, “Where is my child?”
Fodor told police she was nervous to leave her son inside the vehicle, but also was nervous to take him inside the courthouse with her. She told police a court order states she is not permitted to be left alone with her son. Children and Youth Services was notified.