What to Know
- The children, who were crying, sweating and complaining of upset stomach hurt, were rescued and given water in an air conditioned car.
A Hollywood father found himself behind bars after police say he left his two children inside a hot car while he was inside a Davie car store for over an hour.
Officers were called on December 23rd to the U-Pull-It located off State Road 7 after reports of two kids being seen in a parked car that had been turned off with the windows barely rolled down. The children, who were crying, sweating and complaining of upset stomach hurt, were rescued and given water in an air-conditioned police vehicle.
After numerous attempts to locate their father, 28-year-old Alan Luna, he arrived at the car and told officers he had only been inside for 10 to 15 minutes – which was shorter than the time the police had been at the vehicle.
Luna was charged with child abuse and the children involved, who rescue crews say were at risk of heat stroke if they had been in the car any longer, were turned over to their mother.
Luna rejects the assertion that he left his children for such a long period of time. He said that while leaving the kids in the car was a mistake, he urges police to show surveillance camera footage that he said will reveal that he was only in the store for up to 15 minutes.
"Don't believe me or the police – just see the cam," Luna said.
