Woman who allegedly left child in hot car formally charged

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office has filed formal charges against the woman who allegedly left her 3-month-old child locked in a hot car Sunday.

Sunday afternoon, a registered nurse called South Bend Police after she noticed an infant locked in the vehicle next to hers.

She said the driver's window was open three inches and was the only window open, according to the probable cause affidavit.

She told police she is a registered nurse and saw the child was in distress.

An off duty officer with "lockout tools" responded to the scene and unlocked the vehicle.

The officer unlocked the car and removed the three month old child.

Officers then asked Ross Dress for Less to make an announcement and ask the owner of the vehicle to come to the front of the store.

Heather Hudson responded to the front of the store with her 10 year old daughter, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Hudson told police she the infant fell asleep in the back seat and she forgot he was in the vehicle, according to court documents.

Officers reviewed the surveillance video from the store. According to the video, the vehicle was parked at 1:42 p.m., the first police unit arrived at 2:16 p.m. and Hudson exited the store at 2:32 p.m.

The temperature that day was 84-degrees with a humidity level of 71-percent. The heat index was 91-degrees. According to the probable cause affidavit, studies have shown with an ambient temperature of 84-degrees, after half an hour the interior temperature of a vehicle is approximately 113-degrees.

Hudson has been formally charged with one count of neglect of a dependent.