Massachusetts Dad Accidentally Leaves 1-Year-Old Daughter In Car, Calls 911

A dad in Massachusetts inadvertently left his 1-year-old daughter inside his car as he rode the train to work on Wednesday morning. The father, who wanted to remain unnamed, called 911 and rushed back to his vehicle as soon as he remembered his precious cargo.

The Quincy resident had already reached his workplace in Cambridge when he realized that he had left his child locked inside his SUV, which he parked at the North Quincy train station. "I left my baby in my SUV by accident this morning at North Quincy station,” he told the operator in a call released by WCVB. “I am on my way back to the station now.”

A dispatcher sent police officers to the parking lot of the train station to rescue the baby, who had been in the car for 35 minutes. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MTBA) police spokesman Lt. Richard Sullivan told NBC local news WHDH that there will be no charges filed against the father.

The MBTA spokesman said the father was “literally in tears” when he arrived at the station. Sullivan added that the child, who was turned over to her mother, was “never in distress.”

The father explained what happened on that day in a statement obtained by CBS Boston, saying he was supposed to have two day care drop-offs that morning, one for his older child at school and the other for his infant daughter at an in-home daycare center. That morning, after he dropped off his older child, he forgot to leave his sleeping baby at her day care center, instead accidentally leaving her inside the vehicle before he boarded a train.

He had a safeguard procedure against such incidents, but he neglected to use it that morning. It was one of the worst days of his life, but he knew he was also very fortunate that he had come to his senses before it was too late. His daughter, he added, is now safe and happy.

While unfortunate, the unnamed father’s experience wasn’t unique. In the U.S. alone, there were 30 reported instances of children dying of vehicular heatstroke in 2014.

Contact the writer: a.lu@ibtimes.com.au