Baby safe after locking herself in mom's car in Clay County

A local baby is safe Friday after she locked herself in her mother’s car on a warm day.

Clay County deputies broke into the car to get her out.

“I’ve had nightmares of, ‘Oh my gosh, where’s my kid? I left her in the car!’" said the baby’s mother Caroline Portlock.

But when it actually happened to her, it wasn’t what she expected.

She has keyless ignition, so she turned the car and air conditioning on while baby Lily played with the keys.

Portlock put Lily in her car seat, shut the door and went to hug her sister-in-law goodbye. That’s when she heard the doors lock.

“Click click, the door locks and she’s in there with my keys,” said Portlock.

She called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies used special tools to get the door open.

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“If the A/C was not on, I would’ve busted through that window,” said Portlock.

It just goes to show how easily young children can lock themselves in a car -- and in some cases the A/C isn’t on and they’re all alone.

Twenty-nine percent of children who’ve died in hot cars were playing alone in that car unattended.

When Action News Jax put a thermometer in a car on an 89-degree day two weeks ago, it took less than 10 minutes to reach deadly temperatures inside.

“Of course, you never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Portlock.

She said she’s thankful Lily wasn’t alone and thankful to these deputies who got her to safety.

“I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for doing your job and being there and not making me feel like a terrible mom for having my kid lock herself in the car,” she said.

Cox Media Group