Parents Left 6 Children in Sweltering Car While They Ate at Wingstop

A Kansas couple is facing a dozen felony charges after allegedly leaving six children—including two 7-month-old infants—inside a sweltering vehicle for up to half an hour while they ate inside a restaurant on one of the hottest days of the year.

Michael Douglas Krueger, 53, and Tiffany Krueger, 40, were each charged with six felony counts of aggravated child endangerment in connection with the July 8 incident, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.

Police were called shortly after 2 p.m. to a Wingstop restaurant in the 1600 block of South Ohio Street in Salina after someone reported seeing several children alone inside a parked vehicle.

When officers arrived, they found the vehicle turned off with only one window partially rolled down, according to local reports.

Inside were six children ranging in age from 7 months to 13 years old. The group included two 7-month-old infants, a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 13-year-old.

Investigators determined that the children had allegedly been left inside the vehicle for approximately 20 to 30 minutes while the outside temperature had reached 97 degrees. The heat index was reportedly 102.

Witnesses told police the adults remained inside the restaurant the entire time and did not come outside to check on the children.

Salina Emergency Medical Services evaluated all six children at the scene before they were taken into protective custody.

Sgt. Aaron Melby told KAKE that none of the children appeared to have suffered serious medical problems, although he noted that it can be more difficult to accurately assess infants.

According to criminal complaints filed in Saline County, each parent allegedly “recklessly cause[d] or permit” each child to be placed “in a situation in which the child’s life, body, or health was endangered.”

Authorities said the case is another frightening reminder of how quickly a parked vehicle can become dangerously hot.

“It can get extremely hot in a car very quickly,” Melby said. “The car can get significantly hotter than the outside temperature—car temperatures can reach well over 120 degrees, so they basically become little ovens.”

Officials also warned that cracking a window does little to protect children from the heat.

Chad Scoville of the Salina Fire Department told KWCH that a child’s body temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult’s, making babies and young children especially vulnerable to heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other potentially deadly complications.

If convicted, each aggravated child endangerment charge carries a possible sentence of five to 17 months in prison under Kansas law, according to the charging documents.