Christmas Shopper Leaves Infant In Car

A Foley mother and firefighter has been charged with reckless endangerment, after police say she left her three-month old baby in her while she went shopping at Wal-Mart. Wendy Martell was booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Center Sunday afternoon. Police were called to the Highway 59 store Sunday when another shopper saw the crying baby in the back seat of Martell's car.

"When we interviewed her, she told us she forgot the child was in the back seat," says Foley Police Sgt. Tony Fuqua.

Temperatures were in the 70's Sunday afternoon across much of Southwest Alabama. Firefigthers say when they got the child out of the car, the temperature inside was over 90 degrees. The baby was rushed to the hospital and Martell was put in jail.

"It was the smartest thing to do," says Fuqua. "All parents should make their children a main priority. This woman could face up to a year in prison if she's convicted of reckless endangerement."

"How could she do that?" asks Miriam Wallace. "I don't even want to imagine what the child went through."

"I think it's ridiculous," says Shannon Crane, a Foley resident. "It's just sad, it's a helpless baby, it can't defend itself."

Foley Fire Chief Jamie Hinton has placed Martell on administrative leave. Hinton says Martell has been with the department for two years. The Department of Human Resources has been notified about the incident. The baby was released from the hospital Tuesday.