BELTON, Texas (KWTX/Gray News) – Police in Texas said a mother was charged with injury to a child after her toddler nearly strangled himself when she left him alone in a vehicle.
Angela Celeste Moreno, 24, of Belton, was arrested on March 26, at about 7:30 p.m. and booked into the Bell County Jail.
Belton police said on Oct. 10, 2024, officers and EMS responded at around 9 p.m. to a restaurant in the area after a caller reported a child was unconscious and not breathing.
Police arrived and located restaurant staff performing life-saving measures on the boy.
Moreno told police she left her two sons, ages 3 and 1, inside of her car unsecured and unattended while she went inside a restaurant to collect a DoorDash order for delivery.
According to police, Moreno returned to her car about 10 minutes later and discovered her 3-year-old son climbed to stick his head out of the moonroof, but accidentally shut it on himself with the button on the ceiling of the car.
The boy was unable to reopen it, cutting off his breathing.
He was transported to McClane Children’s Hospital by Belton EMS with life-threatening injuries at the time, but he did survive.
Following the investigation, detectives screened the case with the Bell County District Attorney’s Office. They accepted a charge of injury to a child on Tuesday.
Moreno is being held on a $50,000 bond.
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