Watch Policeman Rescue Toddler Trapped in Hot Car

Unlike how most babies-in-hot-car incidents play out, mom of two Alma Zamarripa didn’t forget her toddler in the car, nor did she leave her in the vehicle unattended. Her 6-year-old son made an innocent mistake, locking the keys—and his 18-month-old sister—inside. Luckily, after a harrowing 15 minutes, all was resolved.

The Utah mom immediately realized what had happened and called 911. That quick thinking is imperative in the hot summer months, when a vehicle’s interior temperature can climb 10˚ F in 20 minutes. While the outdoor temperature was 78˚ F, the inside of the car was creeping toward 100˚ F.

“I kept telling her in Spanish to click the buttons, to pull on the knob, and she wouldn’t, she couldn’t capture it, she’s never tried to open a door,” Zamarripa tells Salt Lake City’s Fox 13.

By the time police officer Matt Woods arrived, the toddler was screaming and sweating profusely. Unwilling to wait any longer, Zamarripa gave Woods a hammer to break a window. He cut his fingers pulling the girl to safety, but other than that, no one sustained any injuries. The rescue was captured on video by the officer’s body camera.

“It was nothing out of the ordinary, honestly, anybody else that works here would have done the exact same thing,” Woods says.

He’s not the first officer to extract a child from a dangerously hot car. Last summer, New Jersey police had to smash a window to rescue a toddler who was left in a minivan in a Costco parking lot.

One person who can definitely sympathize with Alma Zamarripa’s story? Carrie Underwood. A year ago, she tweeted that her dogs managed to lock themselves and her then-5-month-old son Isaiah in her car. Her brother-in-law ultimately broke a car window to unlock the vehicle.

While mischievous dogs and big brothers are to blame for two of these accidents, parental forgetfulness is a common yet devastating reason some babies are left in cars. Technology is working to prevent that, most recently with a “Rear Seat Reminder” alert in GMC’s new SUVs and a sensor in Evenflo car seats.