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Orange County deputies rescue infant from hot car, arrest father

Rafael Penna

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man is facing charges after deputies said he left his infant inside a hot car for nearly an hour on Monday.

Orange County deputies said a concerned shopper in a Home Depot parking lot on Orange Blossom Trail alerted them that an infant was alone inside a vehicle.

The child’s father, Rafael Penna, 35, was arrested.

Investigators said the temperature was 91 degrees Monday afternoon and the inside of the vehicle had soared to 118 degrees when they rescued the baby.

Deputies shattered the windows and pulled the child out.

They said the child’s face had turned dark purple and the child barely had the strength to cry.

The Department of Children and Families was called in to investigate and the baby was rushed to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.

The child is OK, investigators said.

Deputies tracked down Penna as he walked out of the store with another man.

The men said they forgot the child was in the car, according to the affidavit. Investigators found two receipts for candy from the Home Depot.

Penna was arrested on charges of child abuse and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

He bonded out of jail late Monday night.

Karen Parks

Karen Parks, WFTV.com

Karen Parks is a reporter at WFTV.