Not Guilty: Father Headed To Trial For Leaving Baby In Hot Car OverNight

[Sugar Cookie]

A Schofield father accused of leaving his son in a hot car overnight will go to trial for a felony count of neglecting a child and two drug charges.

Police say, Zachary Wakeen was unloading his car after returning to his home in early August 2019. He made two trips to unpack things, leaving the child and carseat in the vehicle. He then told police everything became a "blur" and he fell asleep on a couch.

The child's mother was asleep in another room at the time. By the time she found Wakeen on the couch, it was nearly noon. That's when he realized the baby was still in the car.

Officers say the temperature inside the vehicle was 130 degrees an hour after the boy was removed from the vehicle. The air temp was 82 at the time of the police report. Officers estimate that the child was in the car with the windows rolled up for close to 10 hours.

The child was rushed by ambulance to Ascension St. Claire's in Weston then flown on to Marshfield Clinic. He was released a few days later.

Officers say they also found meth and a pipe inside the home, leading to added charges of possession of meth and drug paraphernalia.

Wakeen headed to trial for child neglect charges

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A Schofield father accused of leaving his son in a hot car overnight will go to tria...

wsau.com

 

[Keepalowprofile]

The child's mother was asleep in another room at the time. By the time she found Wakeen on the couch, it was nearly noon. That's when he realized the baby was still in the car.

Officers estimate that the child was in the car with the windows rolled up for close to 10 hours.

So what was up with the mother that she slept for 10 hours without checking on her baby!?

Oh wait a minute, this:

Officers say they also found meth and a pipe inside the home,

 

[Sejanus]

Junkies.
Sterilize them.
5 years in a cage.
Remove parental rights.

 

[TX Leather Face]

So what was up with the mother that she slept for 10 hours without checking on her baby!?

Oh wait a minute, this:

That and eating after a week or so of being up is the only enjoyable experience from the evil of meth use.

 

[caitierig]

They are SO lucky that kid made it through. I have to wonder if it will have any lasting neurological problems from literally baking that long

 

[Sugar Cookie]

That is one tough baby.

I hope the baby is somewhere safe.

 

[EyEgOrE]

Looks like the whole family was baked that night, in one way or another.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A 24-year-old man charged with leaving his 2-year-old son in his car overnight in August 2019 pleaded no contest to felony child neglect.

As part of an agreement, Marathon County Circuit Judge Gregory Huber did not find Zachary Wakeen, of Schofield, guilty of the charge. If Wakeen follows all of the conditions of the agreement for five years, Huber will find Wakeen guilty of the reduced charges of misdemeanor child neglect, disorderly conduct and negligent operation of a vehicle, according to online records. One of the conditions is not to commit any crimes.

According to the criminal complaint, Wakeen picked his son up from his parents' house at about 2 a.m. July 28, 2019, and then returned home. He turned off his car and made two trips to take things into the house. Wakeen told police he sat down briefly and fell asleep while his son was still in the car, according to the complaint.

At about 11:45 a.m., the child's mother woke up in the bedroom and found Wakeen asleep on the couch. She woke him and asked about their son. They looked around the house for him, and then Wakeen realized the boy was still in the car seat, in the car, with the windows rolled up, according to the complaint.

The parents got the boy out of the car and tried to cool him down in the bathtub. The child's mother started doing CPR and Wakeen called 911. An ambulance took the boy to Ascension St. Clare's Hospital, and he was later flown to Marshfield Medical Center. The boy was released from the hospital by July 31, 2019, his grandmother told the Wausau Daily Herald.

Huber scheduled a review of the case for Dec. 15, 2025.

Schofield man reaches plea agreement in case of 2-year-old son left in car

Zachary Wakeen entered a plea but was not found guilty of felony child neglect. His son was left in the car overnight in August 2019.

www.wausaudailyherald.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Hopefully this was a wake up call to the father to be more attentive and responsible when it comes to the safety of his child.

He does not realize how lucky his child was and that he still has a chance to be a good father.