A little girl was slouched over on the passenger side seat,
wearing diapers and clutching cookies in her tiny hands.
When she didn't respond to his taps on the window, Jeff
Belmont sprang into action, he said.
He punched through the window, reached through, unbuckled
her, wiped the glass from the girl's body and lifted her out.
He ran into the Target store in Corona, carrying the
semiconscious child.
The 2-year-old's mother, Samantha Ward, 23, of Ontario, was
arrested minutes later on suspicion of child endangerment.
Ward had left the child in the front passenger seat of the
car, the windows rolled up and the engine off for almost 15
minutes as she shopped, said Sgt. Tom Weeks. The temperature
at the time was about 100 degrees, he said.
"Six more minutes and there could have been a possible
death," said Weeks. "What he (Belmont) did was save a child.
He did an outstanding job."
It was around 3:30 p.m. Sunday when Belmont, along with his
wife and son, parked their car at the new Target store at
Cajalco Road and Interstate 15. As they walked toward the
store, a woman stopped them and said, "There's a baby in this
car." That's when Belmont, a telecommunications engineer who
lives in Temescal Canyon, broke the window. The temperature
inside the vehicle was 122 degrees 10 minutes after the window
was broken, Weeks said.
Once inside the store, Belmont and another citizen spotted
Ward putting shopping bags inside her Camaro, which was parked
in a handicapped space, he said. Belmont, his hands bleeding,
rushed out, told Ward he had her baby and that she needed to
come inside.
"We wouldn't let her hold her child," said Belmont. "We
waited until the paramedics arrived."
The girl was taken to Corona Regional Medical Center and
treated for heat exhaustion. She was later released to
Riverside County Child Protective Services, Weeks said.
Ward was booked and later released on $15,000 bail, he
said.
Weeks said the Police Department plans to submit Belmont's
name for the Corona Citizen of the Year award.
Reach Stefanie Frith at (909) 893-2114 or sfrith@pe.com
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