VANCOUVER, Washington — A Clark County sheriff’s deputy broke a car window and rescued a 2-year-old child who had been left inside a hot parked vehicle, according to reports citing the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
WTOK/Gray Local Media reported that Deputy Hulsey responded to a 911 call after witnesses saw a small child alone in a parked vehicle. While waiting for deputies, bystanders gathered around the car and tried to create shade.
Deputy found the child sweating and not responding
According to the WTOK report, the outside temperature was 92 degrees, the engine was off and only a rear window had been left slightly cracked. Hulsey arrived and found the child strapped into a car seat, sweating heavily, with the child’s head tilted to the side and not responding.
The deputy broke the vehicle’s window, removed the toddler, placed the child in an air-conditioned patrol car and had medics evaluate the child, the report said. KPTV reported that the incident happened in Vancouver and that the child had been in the vehicle for about 16 minutes.
Sheriff’s office warning: call 911
WTOK reported that investigators said the parents had been inside a nearby grocery store for almost 30 minutes by the time deputies found them. Both parents face reckless-endangerment charges, and KPTV reported that Child Protective Services was notified.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office warning is simple and practical: a parked car can become dangerously hot within minutes, even with a window cracked. Anyone who sees a child or pet alone in a vehicle and believes they are in distress should call 911.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a vehicle’s interior temperature can rise quickly, and WTOK reported that 31 children died from vehicular heatstroke in the United States in 2025. In this case, witnesses called, stayed nearby and helped keep attention on the child until the deputy arrived.
Sources reviewed
- WTOK/Gray Local Media: Deputy rescues sweating toddler in hot car with temperatures above 90 degrees outside
- KPTV: Clark County deputies rescue child from hot car in Vancouver
- Central Oregon Daily: Deputy breaks car window to rescue small child on 90-degree day in Southwest Washington
Editorial note: ThinBlueNews is not naming the child. The featured image uses a real body-camera/source image credited to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office as distributed by Gray Local Media/WTOK, with the child blurred for privacy.