A mother was arrested Wednesday for leaving her two children unattended in a car in Valley Stream, police say.
Authorities say Sandra Mclamb left her 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter alone in a car for an hour. She was allegedly inside an Aldi supermarket.
Police say good Samaritans rescued the kids through a car window. According to court documents “The two juvenile victims were observed by witnesses to be in distress in the way of screaming and crying.”
Mclamb, 33 of Queens Village, pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges at her Hempstead arraignment and was released on her own recognizance. Her children were at the courthouse with a man who said he was their father. He didn’t want to speak on camera but told News 12 the children are well-cared for and said that Mclamb only left them for 10 minutes.
According to court documents, Mclamb said, “I don’t normally leave my kids by themselves in the car while I go in to a store. I thought I could run in and they’d still be asleep.”
The children were taken to a hospital to get checked out, and police say they are going to be OK.