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Attorney charged after he ‘forgot’ girlfriend’s 9-year-old son in hot car

Posted at 3:57 PM, May 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-30 17:57:18-04

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio – An attorney who told officers he forgot his girlfriend's "quiet" son was in the car with him, has his own court date after a good Samaritan rescued the child from a car left under the blazing sun with the windows rolled up.

Police released the urgent 911 call made from a Home Depot parking lot in Cleveland Heights:

911 dispatcher: "What's going on at the Home Depot?"

Caller: "There's a kid in the car, all of the windows are up. I got the alarm going 'cuz I opened the door."

911 dispatcher: "So were you able to get the kid out of the car?"

Caller: "Yes, but I don't want to be standing here when the parents come out and I got his kid."

It was just after 2 p.m. Monday when a passerby spotted the 9-year-old boy inside a 2017 black Nissan Altima with the windows closed, as the heat index outside reached 94 degrees.

911 dispatcher: "How is the child doing, does the child need any medical attention?"

Caller: "Yeah he's slobbering at the mouth."

911 dispatcher: "He's what?"

Caller: "He's slobbering at the mouth."

The good Samaritan opened an unlocked car door then waited for police and paramedics.

Police body camera footage showed officers arriving on scene as the young boy sat in the back seat.

Minutes later, the owner of the vehicle, Paul Bayer, 65, appears after running out of the Home Depot apologizing, “I'm here! Oh my God I'm so sorry." He tells the officers that he had forgotten the boy was inside the car.

"Why did you leave him in the car again?" an officer asks.

"He got real quiet, I forgot he was with me, I came here for a quick drum and I forgot I had him," Bayer says.

"Forgot you had your kid in the car?" the officer asks.

"It's my girlfriend's kid," Bayers says. "But yeah, when he gets quiet."

Police say the child, who has autism, was inside the hot car for 20 minutes.

EMS gave him cold water, checked his vitals and determined he was okay.

Bayer, a bankruptcy attorney in Woodmere, told police that the boy is his 36-year-old girlfriend’s son.

He was arrested and charged with endangering a child and is now free on bond.