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Sadikaj allegedly left her daughter in her car while she shopped in TJ Maxx in College Point.
By Forum Staff
“I wasn’t gone for a long time.” Those are the words of a Queens mother who left her two-year-old in a car with the windows up on Sunday, one of the hottest days so far this year, while she shopped at a nearby store.
Elvira Sadikaj, 46, of 80th Street in East Elmhurst has been arrested and charged with child endangerment.
Sadikaj left the child in the car to wait for her return and following her arrest, was arraigned on Monday in Queens Criminal Court. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted, was released under the supervision of the Criminal Justice Agency by Queens Criminal Court Judge Scott Dunn who also ordered her to return to court on May 4, 2018.
Criminal charges say that, on April 22, 2018, between 3:20 p.m. and 3:40 p.m., in front of 136-03 20th Avenue, the defendant left her two-year-old daughter inside her locked, black Honda CRV. The engine was off and the windows all the way up when she went inside TJ Maxx.
The toddler was observed by an eyewitness inside the vehicle screaming and crying and covered in sweat. District AttorneyBrown said that members of the New York City Fire Department responded and popped open the lock of the front door and removed the little girl. Approximately five minutes later the mother returned to the vehicle.
District Attorney Brown said, “The care and safety of one’s child should always be of the utmost importance, however, in this case the defendant’s desire to shop allegedly surpassed her instincts to keep her toddler out of harm’s way. The mother’s “quick” trip into a store could have ended tragically, but thankfully firefighters were there in time to rescue the toddler from the hot vehicle. The defendant now faces serious charges.” The District Attorney continued, “Now that the weather is warming up, this incident should serve as a warning to parents and all care-givers that children – as well as pets – left inside an automobile could result in a death. Don’t do it. No trip is quick enough to risk the life of a loved one.”
