An Oxnard man was arrested on Saturday after allegedly leaving his 5-year-old son in an unattended vehicle parked in a Santa Clarita parking lot in the 90-degree heat. 

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, deputies received reports of a child left unattended in a vehicle in a parking lot on the 25600 block of The Old Road in Stevenson Ranch, according to Deputy Natalie Arriaga, spokesperson for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. 

Outdoor temperatures were around 90 degrees when the 5-year-old boy was left in the unattended vehicle.

“A concerned citizen was able to remove the boy from the vehicle and waited for law enforcement personnel to arrive,” Arriaga said. 

When law enforcement arrived on-scene, an announcement was made by deputies in a nearby department store for the owner of the vehicle to identify themselves, according to officials. 

“The suspect identified himself to deputies and was arrested for child cruelty,” Arriaga said. “The child, later determined to be 5 years old, was transported to a local hospital for further medical evaluation.”

Andy Cruces, 44, was booked into the SCV Sheriff’s Station, and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the Santa Clarita booking logs. 

“During the sweltering heat of summer, temperatures in a car can reach up to 150 degrees, an incredibly dangerous environment for anyone, but especially for children,” read a California advisory. “A child can die when his/her body reaches a core temperature of 107 degrees and children’s body temperatures rise 5 times as fast as an adult’s does.

Under California Vehicle Code 15620 it is “illegal to leave a child six years of age or younger unattended in a motor vehicle without the supervision of someone who is 12 years or older when: there are conditions that present a significant risk to the child’s health or safety.”

These conditions apply even when the vehicle’s engine is running and/or the vehicle’s key is in the ignition, according to California Vehicle Code 15620.

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