Mesa woman accused of leaving her 2 kids in hot car to shop

A Mesa woman is accused of negligent child abuse after allegedly leaving her two toddlers in a hot car while she went shopping for baby food at a supermarket.

Mesa police say 23-year-old Jaime Cassell was arrested Sunday afternoon.

They say a witness noticed two small children sitting in a hot car in a parking lot with the vehicle’s engine running.

The witness called police after waiting several minutes and not seeing either of the children’s parents return to the car.

Police say Cassell left the toddlers unattended in the vehicle to get baby food and was trying to hurry as she knew it was hot outside.

They say the temperature outside was 110 degrees at the time.

It was unclear Monday if Cassell has a lawyer yet for her case.