ORANGE CITY, Fla. — A DeLand father is facing child neglect charges after deputies say he left his infant daughter in a hot SUV while it was 97 degrees outside Monday.
- Andrew Kay charged with child neglect without great harm
- Infant was reportedly sweating, red; she was treated at scene
- Responding Volusia deputies said Kay smelled of alcohol
- INTERACTIVE: How hot can your vehicle get? ▼
At about 2:30 p.m., a woman spotted 25-year-old Andrew Kay walking around a white Ford SUV on North Sparkman Avenue in Orange City, according to an according to an Volusia County Sheriff's Office incident report.
The SUV was parked in the woman's yard, up against her mailbox, and the woman said she saw Kay walking around the vehicle for about 45 minutes.
That's when she said Kay remove an infant from the vehicle after walking around it for 45 minutes, the incident report said.
Another witness said the infant "was sweating profusely, had redness to her skin, and was hot to the touch."
That witness took the child from Kay, because he thought Kay was under the influence of something, the incident report stated.
When deputies arrived, Kay told them he parked in front of his friend's house, and the child was never left in the SUV and was with him the entire time he was out of the SUV.
He also told deputies he was at a friend's house drinking but only had two drinks, the incident report said.
The child's mother was contacted, and she took the infant. She told deputies that she broke up with Kay "due to his severe drinking problem," deputies said.
The child was treated at the scene and was cleared to leave.
Kay faces charges of child neglect without great harm.
A call to a number listed as Kay's in the incident report was not returned as of Tuesday afternoon.