News

Mom Allegedly Leaves 2 Toddlers in Car Outside of Bar During Polar Vortex

NewsPublished Feb 1, 2019
By Genny Glassman
Tiara Dillion12 KWCH

A mom from Lawrence, Kansas, is begging for forgiveness after she allegedly left her kids in the car while she went to get a drink on a dangerously cold night. According to reports, Tiara Dillion left her kids in a freezing, cold vehicle for four hours, when erratic comments caused her to get kicked out of the bar. Eventually, police were called on the mom after she tried to to get back in the bar. That's when they then discovered the tragic truth of who was also with the mom on that cold January night.

The incident happened on Wednesday, after the mom decided to stop at a bar for a drink.-placeholder
The incident happened on Wednesday, after the mom decided to stop at a bar for a drink.
KWCH 12

The incident happened on Wednesday, after the mom decided to stop at a bar for a drink.

According to Fox 4 KC, the 26-year-old went into Playerz Sports Bar in Lawrence about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Bartenders said that over the course of four hours, the mom ordered several drinks and made erratic remarks to them. By about 1:30 a.m., staff had had enough of her behavior and asked Dillion to leave. 

The mom walked over to her car but couldn't get it started, which is why she allegedly went back into Playerz. Staff then promptly called the police.

When police arrived, they reported that Dillion had left Playerz and was nearby in her vehicle.-placeholder
When police arrived, they reported that Dillion had left Playerz and was nearby in her vehicle.
12 KWCH

When police arrived, they reported that Dillion had left Playerz and was nearby in her vehicle.

When they looked inside, Dillion's two children, a 2- and 3-year-old, were there with her. To make matters much, much worse, the temperature that night was reportedly around 6 degrees with a wind chill of about -12. That's much too cold for anyone, let alone children, to be in a car. According to KWCH 12, the kids were unharmed, but Officer Derrick Smith told reporters that the girls had been "without heat for a substantial amount of time." 

Dillion was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and aggravated child endangerment and was booked into jail while she waited for her court hearing.

In court Thursday, the mom begged the judge not to take her children away from her and acknowledged that she had made a mistake.

Dillion repeatedly asked Judge James George to not take her children away from her and told him that she never meant to harm her two kids. But the judge was unmoved by her words. He slapped Dillion with a no-contact order and charged her with two felony counts of aggravated child endangerment and a misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle under the influence.

To understand just how dangerous it can be to leave a child in a freezing car, especially during polar vortex temperatures, Dr. Travis Langner, University of Kansas Health System pediatric critical care division manager, told Fox 4 KC that parents need to know that their cars are unpredictable in terms of how cold it can really get. Kids' bodies are too small to adjust to freezing temperatures easily, and it would only take a drop in body temperature of a couple of degrees to give them hypothermia. 

"Definitely within minutes you could have that drop in what we call core temperature of the body," Langner explained. "Once [your body temperature] gets below 95 degrees, we start becoming very concerned and want those patients to present to the hospital because part of the treatment is to rewarm them a specific way that can`t be done at home."

Stocking kids with blankets or jackets doesn't solve the problem because it might be hard for young children to take their coverings off if they get too warm. 

Considering that the young kids were believed to be in the car alone at least four hours, it's a miracle that they weren't hurt.

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