Deputies: Lugoff woman said she forgot baby in car while shopping

Kershaw County deputies charged a Lugoff woman with child neglect Tuesday after they say she left a toddler and a dog in her vehicle while she went grocery shopping.

Melony Peters, 46, left a 16-month-old child and a dog in her vehicle while she went grocery shopping, according to a news release.

“This should be a lesson to anyone, a parent or custodian of a child, that if you get caught leaving a baby unattended in a hot car while you shop, you will go to jail,” Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said. “There is no excuse for doing this.”

Deputies responded to Food Lion in Lugoff at about 6:15 p.m. after a report that a young child had been discovered unattended in a car. When officers arrived on scene, they located the vehicle, but no child was present – though the dog was still in the car.

A short time later, a woman exited Food Lion holding the child, who was drenched in sweat, Matthews said. The woman told deputies she had found the child in the car, and with the help of another citizen, had unlocked the car and gotten the child out.

Temperatures reached the mid 80s Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Deputies located Peters inside the store. She told them that she had a lot of things going on in her mind and had forgotten that the baby was in the car, Matthews said.

Officials with the Department of Social Services took custody of the child, and the dog was turned over to Kershaw County Special Services.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 10:03 AM.