A man was arrested on Monday after police say he left a 9-year-old boy inside a hot car for 20 minutes in Cleveland Heights.
Paul Bayer, 65, was charged with child endangering after police said he left his girlfriend's autistic son inside his Nissan while he shopped at the Home Depot at 3460 Mayfield Road.
Cleveland Heights police received a call from a man who pulled up next to Bayer's car and found the boy possibly unconscious and slobbering at the mouth, according to the report. The man told police that when he pulled up next to Bayer's car the windows were rolled up and the car was not running. The boy woke up and appeared to "be confused about how to get out of the car."
The witness said the boy was struggling to get the door open, so the man tried the rear driver's side door, which opened. When police arrived, they noticed the boy was inside the car, extremely flushed, and his hair was wet and sweaty.
Police said Bayer came running outside and apologized, stating he "forgot" that boy was inside the car.
At the time of the incident, police say the temperature in Cleveland Heights was 90 degrees with a heat index of 94 degrees.
The boy was checked by EMS on the scene and released to his mother.
Bayer was taken to the Cleveland Heights Police Department, where he posted bond.
