JACKSON – A local woman faces charges of leaving her child inside a vehicle on a hot summer day.

Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith reported that following an investigation, 23-year-old Brittany Nicole Goode was arrested for misdemeanor child abuse. She was given a $1,000 bond and ordered to appear July 21 in Northampton County District Court to answer the charge.

Smith said an individual that had witnessed the child alone in a vehicle had stopped by the Sheriff’s Office and reported the incident.

“As is typical for this time of the year, it was a hot day; the temperature that day (June 24) was around 90 degrees,” Sheriff Smith said. “Based on our investigation, the child was left unattended in the vehicle for a considerable amount of time.”

The Northampton Sheriff wants to caution citizens to please be mindful that children should not be left in a vehicle alone under any conditions, especially when it is hot.

“Our citizens need to be aware that it only takes a few minutes for a situation like this to turn into a tragic situation,” Smith said.

On average, 38 children die nationally in hot cars each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside motor vehicles, according to health officials.

There have been eight child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2015 (last updated on June 22).

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 immediately. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.