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Six children were rescued and taken to the hospital after spending over an hour sitting in a hot van for over an hour. Melissa Compton, property manager at Park Colony apartment complex in Des Plaines, Illinois, told WLS that a tenant told her about the children, and she went outside to check on them.
The kids, ages 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 18 months old, were crying and didn't have any food or water. Compton called 911 and told the dispatcher that the children appeared to be in distress.
"They looked hot, and I was hot standing there, and I wasn't even in the car. So I can imagine in the car was probably much," Compton told the news station.
Compton said that other residents came outside and squeezed snacks and water through one of the open windows for the kids.
The North Maine Fire Protection District responded to the scene and removed the kids from the van. They were taken to the hospital for treatment, though no information was provided about their conditions.
Deputies with the Cook County Sheriff's Office searched the apartment complex and located the man's father. He told them that he worked for a cleaning company and left his kids in the van so he could clean an apartment in the building.
He was taken into custody and charged with six counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. The sheriff's office said that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is evaluating the incident and will decide what to do with the children.
"I get it. It's hard. I raised three kids by myself, and I know it's not easy," Compton said. "If you have little people, you're responsible for them. Leaving them alone is not the answer."