Florida mother reunited with child after accidental car lockout
By: -----
Tampa, FL - A Florida mother was in a panic after accidentally locking herself out of her car with her child trapped inside at a gas station, according to authorities.
The Tampa Police Department said officers responded to a report of a mother who had accidentally locked her keys inside her vehicle with her child inside. Police said she immediately called 911 and stayed with her child until officers arrived.
Body camera video released by the department, dated Thursday, July 16, shows officers arriving at a Tampa gas station and approaching the panicked mother.
"She's in her car seat," the mother told the approaching officer.
The body camera video shows the officer asking whether the child was awake and OK. The mother replied, "She's more than okay... she's awake."
The mother told the officer they had gone into the gas station store to buy popcorn for her child. After returning to the car, she placed the child in the car seat and then stepped away to pump gas, accidentally locking her keys inside the vehicle with the child.
Officers used a lockout kit to pry open the car door, allowing the mother to be reunited with her child.
Once the door was opened, the mother hugged the officers and thanked them for coming to her aid.