Early last Friday, police received a call about a child locked inside a car on the fourth floor of St. Michael Hospital’s parking garage. When they arrived minutes later, security officers and nurses were already at the scene. Someone had noticed the car’s engine running and saw an infant in a car seat inside. They managed to get the baby out through a window that had been left slightly open.
As officers searched for the car’s owner, Britney Petro approached them and claimed the car and child were hers. When questioned about leaving her 7-month-old baby alone, Petro explained that she couldn’t find a babysitter and had left the child in the car about 45 minutes earlier while she went inside to start her work shift.
Petro was arrested for Abandoning or Endangering a Child and taken to Bi-State Jail. Child Protective Services took custody of the baby. Petro was released later that day after posting a $50,000 bond.
