ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man said he got black-out drunk at a local bar and forgot he left a baby locked inside his vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said a passerby at Friendly Confines on Aloma Avenue noticed the baby screaming and crying in the front seat of a brown Chrysler that had its hazard lights on around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday. The witness went into the bar and asked if anyone left the child, but when no one claimed the baby, management called 911 and began working to get the child out, according to the report.
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Witnesses who were in the bar's patio area said the vehicle's hazard lights had been on for about 10 minutes.
Deputies said witnesses coached the child on how to unlock the car door, then pulled the baby from the vehicle before first responders arrived.
The child's age and sex were not available. The baby was not injured.
One of the child's parents came to the scene and said Jerry Mitchell, 31, was supposed to be watching the baby.
A bartender said Mitchell arrived at the bar around 4:45 p.m. and appeared to be drunk when he closed his tab at 7 p.m., returned to the bar about 15 minutes later and drank there until 8:30 p.m., then returned for a second time at 9 p.m.
He and a woman drank together until about 11 p.m., when Mitchell paid for both of their drinks and then the two left together, according to the report.
Deputies said Mitchell arrived at the scene at 2:45 a.m. Wednesday and told them he blacked out and couldn't remember what happened other than drinking with an older woman then going with her to her apartment on Aloma Avenue.
He was arrested on charges of child abuse and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.