Cops: Hempstead woman left infant inside car amid below-freezing temps

A Hempstead woman was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child Thursday after she left an infant alone in a car — in below-freezing weather — at an East Garden City parking lot, Nassau police said.

Cinthia Hernandez Munguia, 25, of Burnett Street, was scheduled to be arraigned on the charge in First District Court in Hempstead on Friday, Nassau police said, but it was unclear Thursday night whether she had posted bail or retained an attorney.

Police said a passerby in the BuyBuy Baby parking lot at 895 East Gate Blvd. noticed a one-and-a-half-year-old girl was left “unattended in a 2000 Nissan without heat on a frigid 24-degree day.”

The witness called police and Munguia arrived some 20 minutes later and was arrested by Third Precinct officers, police said. The baby girl was released to a family member, police said.