RALEIGH, N.C. (WRAL) – A North Carolina mother is facing charges after authorities say she not only punched her 6-week-old daughter but also left her alone in a car when temperatures were around 40 degrees.
Police say 21-year-old Nikita Jones left her 6-week-old baby in a cold car Nov. 20 in the parking lot of McDonald’s in downtown Raleigh. Warrants say the baby was unrestrained in the back seat and the vehicle wasn’t running while Jones went to work to begin her shift.
Police say the temperature when the baby was found was around 40 degrees. They have not released details about her condition.
Jones was charged Monday with one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of intentional child abuse resulting in serious physical injury. She was jailed on a $35,000 bond.
According to warrants, Jones is accused of striking her daughter in the face a day before allegedly leaving her in the car. The baby suffered bruising to both eyes, swelling and a scratch to the face.
It is not known how long the 6-week-old was in the car, but experts say on a 40-degree day, it would take hours for hypothermia to set in – and for a baby, it would be even less.
“They [babies] cannot regulate their temperature as well, and they also have a lot more body surface area,” said Dr. Ryan Lamb, medical director and chair of emergency medicine at UNC Rex Holly Springs.
Lamb says a baby likely has no way of getting warmer, putting on more clothes or blankets, which is a factor of how fast hypothermia can set in.
“Infants, how big their heads are relatively to their body, right? So, there’s a lot of energy that’s gonna get lost there unless they’re bundled and have a hat on,” he said.
Signs of mild hypothermia include an increased heart rate, an increased respiratory rate and shaking. As hypothermia progresses, the heart rate and blood pressure will lower, and the body will eventually shut down.
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