Parents arrested after 6 children left in hot car parked outside restaurant, police say

SALINA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) — A mother and father in Kansas are accused of leaving their six children in a hot car outside a restaurant Wednesday, which was one of the hottest days of the year so far for the area.

The Salina Police Department said officers responded to a call at about 2 p.m. regarding children being left alone in a vehicle with only one window cracked.

Police said the children had been left for 20 to 30 minutes.

When officers responded to the scene, the outside temperature in Salina was nearly triple digits, with a heat index over 100 degrees.

Michael Krueger, 53, and Tiffany Krueger, 40, were arrested on six counts of aggravated child endangerment.

Police also confirmed that all six children, ranging in age from 7 months old to 13 years old, were taken into protective custody.

Fire department reminds parents of hot car dangers

Chad Scoville of the Salina Fire Department said children are more vulnerable to heat than adults.

“A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than adults’,” Scoville said. “They just do not have the same regulating capabilities that an adult does.”

Scoville said temperatures inside vehicles can reach dangerous levels within a short period of time.

“Temperatures can reach deadly levels inside cars within minutes,” Scoville said. “Anything can happen at any time, even if you think you’re going to be [away for] minutes — that could turn into an hour. We simply do not want to leave unattended children or pets in unattended vehicles. Period.”