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DCFS Investigating After Baby Left In Hot Car For Two Hours

JOLIET (CBS) -- State child welfare officials are investigating after an infant was left in a hot car for about two hours Tuesday in southwest suburban Joliet.

A miscommunication between the 7-month-old's parents apparently led to him being left in the car alone in a Joliet Public Library parking lot at 22 W. Clinton St., Joliet Police Deputy Chief Alan Roechner said.

Though the baby was reported to be in "very critical" condition Tuesday night, Roechner said Wednesday he had spoken to a nurse from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and the baby was doing a lot better.

"They don't believe there will be any lasting injuries," Roechner said.

The child's mother and her boyfriend, the infant's father, were together earlier that day with the baby and the woman's other two children, 3 and 12, Roechner said.

She dropped her boyfriend and the other children off at home, and later told police she thought he had taken the infant out of the vehicle, Roechner said.

The woman then parked downtown to go to a meeting at a title company at 10 a.m., and left the vehicle not realizing the baby was inside, he said.

She realized what had happened about noon, after the meeting ended and she listened to a message from her boyfriend asking where the child was, Roechner said.

The woman found the baby unresponsive and not breathing inside the vehicle, Roechner said. She yelled for help from a nearby parking enforcement officer, who called for an ambulance.

Paramedics were able to revive the child at the scene and took him to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center, he said. The child went into cardiac arrest at the hospital, but was stabilized. He has since been transferred to Advocate Christ.

According to a DFCS spokesperson, the agency is investigating the incident. The investigation is pending and the agency has not had prior contact with the family.

No charges or citations had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon as Joliet police continue their investigation.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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