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Toddler Expected To Survive After Being Left In Cold Car For 7 Hours

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Police in Adams County say a 2-year-old boy was left alone in a car over the weekend as a snowstorm rolled through the region and was stuck inside the snow-covered car amid sub-zero temperatures for at least seven hours.

The boy's mother, Nicole Carmon, 26, was arrested.

Nicole Carmon
Nicole Carmon (credit: Thornton Police)

The child is receiving treatment for hypothermia and frostbite but is expected to survive.

Police said they aren't sure why the mother left the child alone.

Thornton police said their investigation began when Westminster police received a 911 call from Carmon.

On that call, Carmon allegedly told dispatchers she believed she was in an accident late Friday night or early Saturday morning and couldn't find her child.

Police said they think Carmon believed her child could still have been in that car.

The car, a Ford Fusion, was found in a parking lot in Thornton and officers said the vehicle was heavily covered with snow that they couldn't see inside. When they brushed off the windows they saw the 2-year-old sitting in the car.

The child was then rushed to the hospital while his mother was arrested.

Carmon faces a felony child abuse charge and is being held at the Adams County Jail.

Police said a preliminary investigation showed no signs of the Ford being involved in a car crash.

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