Casino-Gambling Mom Allegedly Left 4-Year-Old Alone In Car For 8 Hours

A Baltimore woman allegedly left her four-year-old daughter locked in an SUV for about eight hours while she was gambling on New Year’s Eve, according to police.

The prechooler was allegedly left alone in the car in near-freezing temperatures while her mother gambled at the Maryland Live! Casino, which apparently was documented by the facility’s surveillance cameras.

A security guard patrolling the fourth floor of the parking garage noticed the unattended child crying in the vehicle at about 6:30 pm last night and called police. The SUV had apparently been parked there since about 10 am that morning. One report suggested that blankets covered the windows of the vehicle.

Paramedics were called to the scene and transported the child to a local hospital. Other than being cold and hungry, the child fortunately appeared to be in good health, doctors said.

The girl’s mother returned to the car as first responders were getting ready to take her daughter to the hospital. The mom, 24, who identified herself as the parent, was arrested at the scene and charged with second degree child abuse, confining an unattended child under age eight, and neglect of a minor. The child was released to a relative.

According to an Anne Arundel County police official, the child was left in the car all day, and it was undetermined if her mother left the casino and checked on her at any point.

The official also said that “(This is) parental selfishness, absolute stupidity, just a reckless, reckless, reckless abandonment. You can’t do this, and any parent out there who thinks they can do this, the same thing is going to happen to you.”

Back in July, as The Inquisitr reported, two Florida moms allegedly left four kids in a running car unattended while they went gambling in a casino, and both were charged with child neglect.