Supercop saves 3-year-old girl from hot car after she was locked inside for 12 hours after mother went to 'buy alcohol'
Police have released a dramatic footage showing the moment a police officer rescued a young child after she was trapped inside a searing car for over 12 hours. Bill Dunn, a deputy from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, discovered the 3-year-old girl inside a hot car on June 17 and initially thought she was not alive.
Dunn can be seen in the body camera footage released by the department holding the young girl in his arms and rushing her to his cruiser, where he immediately turned on air conditioning. “Once the cold air hit her, I started noticing her eyes fluttering,” Dunn said.
But the officer wanted to ensure the girl was completely fine and so he took her to the hospital right after.
“It’s OK, baby; talk to me. You’re OK,” Dunn can be heard saying in the video. After reaching the emergency room and admitting the girl, Dunn left the hospital as he thought there was nothing more he could do. As he walked towards his patrol car, the deputy could be seen slumping over.
“It was a heck of a thing to experience that adrenaline dump. And then when it finally goes away, how it really does affect the body,” he said. Three days after the incident, the hospital released the girl and Dunn was able to reunite with her.
“Sometimes we’re able to have a moment like this that makes it all worthwhile,” Dunn said of the incident.
According to Fox 35 Orlando, the girl's mother, identified as 33-year-old Casey Dyan Keller, claimed that someone stole her car while her daughter was inside, police said. However, it was revealed later that Keller had left the girl in the car the night before in order to purchase alcohol.
The heartless mother was subsequently arrested and charged with "child neglect with great bodily harm.” On Wednesday, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office congratulated Bill Dunn and posted a photo of him alongside the 3-year-old on their Twitter account.
“He pulled her out, put her under air conditioning in his cruiser, and rushed her to the hospital,” the sheriff’s office said, describing the events that happened Sunday in Sanford. “We’re so glad she’s made a full recovery. Well done, Dunn!”
The child's father thanked Dunn for saving his daughter's life after the deputy asked to meet the young girl, according to Fox 35 Orlando. “It was good for me, it was healthy for me to be able to see her healthy and up running and acting like a three-year-old should act,” Dunn said.
