Mother accused of leaving 9-month-old in hot car

FULTON COUNTY, Ga — A Roswell mother faces charges after police said she left her 9-month-old daughter in a running, hot car while she went shopping.

Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik obtained an arrest report for 33-year-old Melissa Tomesh, which shows she is facing charges of reckless conduct and cruelty to children stemming from the incident in a CVS parking lot on Holcomb Bridge Road.

“When officers arrived they found the 9-month-old child alone in the vehicle,” said Officer Zachary Frommer. “The vehicle was running, and the windows were shut, but the air conditioning wasn’t on.”

A police report said the little girl showed signs of distress, including being sweaty, having bloodshot eyes, and she was crying, so Frommer said they took her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite to be checked out.

“Even if they think the A/C is running, you shouldn’t leave your child alone in a vehicle,” said Frommer.  “It’s amazing. Certain parents don’t remember or they don’t think it could happen to them.”

In a 911 call obtained by Petchenik, a witness called to say she was standing by the car for nearly 10 minutes with no parent in sight.

Officers found Tomesh inside the store and arrested her.

Petchenik went to the address listed on Tomesh’s arrest report for comment, but no one answered the door.

A phone call and email seeking comment were not returned.

Parents outside the CVS said they were surprised parents were still leaving kids in cars, especially after all of the media coverage surrounding the June death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris in Cobb County after police say his father, Ross, left him in a hot car for 7 hours.

“You need to look at the news and understand that’s a dangerous thing, you know what I mean?” said Stephen Woods. “Especially now, people they go in the store, they’re looking for that.”

Frommer said it appears more people are looking out for kids in cars after the Harris incident.

“Citizens are being more attentive,” he said. “When they notice these things, they’re calling 911, which is awesome. We’re able to catch them before something bad happens.”

WSBTV