Prestonsburg, KY — Prestonsburg City Police responded to a complaint Tuesday of a child left unattended in a hot vehicle. According to authorities, complaints from concerned neighbors indicated that a small child was left in a parked truck on Cliffside Circle in Prestonsburg and that no adult had been seen in the hour prior to the call. The callers indicated the child was crying. Sgt. Ross Shurtleff and Patrolman Randy Woods responded within one minute. Sgt. Shurtleff reported a twenty-two-month old boy was strapped in a car seat in the rear of the pickup. The truck was not running, and window were barely cracked. Authorities report the outside temperature was 85 degrees. The child was in distress and covered in sweat. The child had a sweatshirt, and sweatpants that were wet with the child’s sweat. Prestonsburg Fire and EMS responded and transported the child to ARH Highlands where he was in stable condition but dehydrated. Officers located the mother, Crystal Hamilton of Pikeville, and arrested her. Hamilton was charged with Criminal Abuse 1st degree and Wanton Endangerment 1st degree and lodged in the Floyd County Detention Center. The child was placed with his grandparents by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
