(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Police in north suburban Lake Forest say a 32-year-old North Chicago man has been charged with child endangerment after he left his two sons in an enclosed car for more than two hours Monday morning.
Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief Rob Copeland tells WBBM Newsradio it could have been a fatal mistake.
"I would have to assume that the heat inside that vehicle was probably over 120 degrees. They were probably in there for two hours at that temperature, or greater," he said.
Brandon Wilson left his 8-year-old and 9-year-old sons inside his vehicle, with the windows rolled up, outside Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, where Wilson had gone for medical treatment for himself, police say.
Hospital security alerted police after the boys repeatedly honked the horn. First responders removed the boys.
"The windows were up and they were both kind of lethargic, and they were sweating profusely," Copeland said.
The children were treated at the hospital.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating. The agency says it has not had contact with the family previously.
