RACINE — Kayla M. Hamilton, 26, an employee at Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine, has been charged with felony child neglect after police say she left her nonverbal autistic daughter in a car while at work.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to the hospital parking lot on Wednesday night for a welfare check after security staff found a child in a vehicle. The child was strapped to a car seat; however, the car seat was not secured to the vehicle, and the child was moving around with the seat attached to her.
When officers arrived at the parking lot and unbuckled the girl from the seat, she ran away from the vehicle. Once officers caught up to her, they said they placed her in a squad car for warmth and safety. Temperatures at the time were around 45-50 degrees.
Watch: Racine hospital employee charged with felony child neglect after leaving disabled child in car while working
The criminal complaint alleges the child was not wearing socks or shoes, but was wearing a coat, and there was a blanket in the vehicle.
After about an hour, officers were able to track down the mother, who was identified as Hamilton. She originally told police that she didn't know the child was inside the car, and that a friend was supposed to drop the child off at a babysitter and bring the car back to the parking lot.
During the investigation, officers said they found that Hamilton had the keys to the vehicle and had been seen on surveillance video walking from the direction of the parked vehicle toward the hospital building.
If convicted of the charges, Hamilton could face up to 3.5 years in prison.
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