St. Petersburg Mother Left Infant In Van For Several Hours

A St. Petersburg woman was arrested Saturday after leaving her infant in a van for several hours while she attended the funeral of three women killed in a hit-and-run crash, St. Petersburg police said.

Natasha W. Graver, 32, 2011 42nd St. S., was charged with child abuse and taken to the Pinellas County Jail.

Officers went to Graver’s home about 3:50 p.m. after being called about a 4-month-old girl who had been left in a hot vehicle. The girl was treated by paramedics for heat exposure and taken to All-Children’s Hospital, where police said she is in stable condition.

She will remain at the hospital for further tests.

Graver told police that once she arrived at the church, she forgot about her child and went inside, leaving the van with its windows up and the engine off.

That wasn’t the first time she forgot her child, though.

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