A Philadelphia man has been accused of leaving his 3-year-old child inside a parked car while working out.
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Falls Township police responded to the parking lot outside the Planet Fitness on Plaza Boulevard on the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 1, after a 9-1-1 call reporting a young child left unattended in a silver Buick.
The caller arrived at the facility and spotted the child alone in the vehicle. The car was off, no adults were nearby, and its windows and sunroof were open, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The caller told police that approximately 15 minutes later, the child’s father approached the vehicle and stated he was checking on the child while getting a quick workout inside.
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Police said they identified the father as Mikal Malik Walker, 31, of Philadelphia.
Walker confirmed to an investigating officer that he had left the 3-year-old in the car during his workout.
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He reportedly told police he parked near the gym’s entrance, left the windows down, and checked on the child every 10 minutes throughout his roughly one-hour visit.
Walker allegedly told authorities he was not concerned for the child’s safety because the windows were open and he had provided toys. He added that the doors were locked to prevent the child from wandering off or being kidnapped.
Weather data for the area during the incident showed outdoor temperatures between 85 and 89 degrees, police said.
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Citing National Weather Service information, police said that internal vehicle temperatures can jump 20 degrees in 10 minutes and up to 50 degrees within an hour. Police also stated that a National Weather Service warning said that cracking a vehicle’s windows provides little, if any, heat relief.
Walker is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. He was preliminarily arraigned Monday before District Judge John Galloway and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $250,000 bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
