Dramatic footage shows the moment a police officer smashes a car window to save a baby who was locked inside while temperatures soared above 30 degrees.
A woman was forced to call police after accidentally locking her seven-month-old baby inside her parked vehicle at The Peach Shopping Centre, Atlanta on July 6.
With the mercury hitting a scorching 32 degrees, the mum was understandably distressed and frantically rang 999 for help.
Atlanta Police officer Ronald Stoddard was sent to rescue the baby, and the incident was captured on his body-worn camera.
In the video, the child can be heard crying and is clearly in distress.
“I need help getting into my car. My baby’s in there,” the worried mum says.
"I called right away. I just didn't know what to do and I didn't have anything to break the window."
“It’s OK, buddy,” Stoddard can be heard saying to the baby inside as he smashes the window.
The car was then unlocked by the officer which allowed the mum and baby to be reunited.
“As soon as I saw that the child was in distress, I immediately forced entry,” Stoddard told WSB-TV afterwards.
In America, an average of 37 children nationwide die every year from being left in a hot car.
Motorists and families are being urged to remain vigilant at this time of the year, with July being the peak month for hot car deaths.
Maneesha Agarwal, part of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, said: "There have been heat-related deaths reported when the temperature is as low as 60 degrees outside, so you really never want to leave your child unattended in a vehicle."
