CHANDLER, AZ — Chandler police arrested a woman for leaving her 3-year-old daughter in the driver's seat of a running car over the weekend.
Chandler police reportedly responded to the area of Cooper and Pecos roads Sunday afternoon when a witness called regarding a small child alone in a running car.
When police arrived, they reportedly found a 3-year-old girl in the driver's seat of a car with its engine running and the stereo playing loud music. There were no adults around the vehicle other than the witness.
Police said when they removed the girl from the car, they saw drugs and drug paraphernalia in the center console of the vehicle. The girl's mother, 22-year-old Hanan Regina Dema, returned to the car about 18 minutes later, eating a large bowl of noodles.
The child was given to a family member and police contacted the Arizona Department of Child Safety.
Dema was arrested for drug possession, child abuse, and endangerment.
If you suspect a child is being abused, the Arizona Department of Child Services has resources available to report the issue to a social worker. You can call the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline at 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445), and will be asked for information about the child, as well as the nature of your concerns. You can also get more information from DCS about reporting abuse or neglect online.
