Quick Action: Lakewood Officer Rescues Toddler from Hot Vehicle

Quick Action: Lakewood Officer Rescues Toddler from Hot Vehicle

According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on a day when temperatures hit 97 degrees and the heat index was well above 100 degrees, a Lakewood man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after leaving his 2-year-old son locked in a parked car at the Lakewood Township Police Department last week on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

When Simcha Feldman, 34, of Lakewood, went back to his car on Tuesday afternoon, he was taken into custody, according to prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.

Around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, a Lakewood police officer was in the police department parking lot unloading stuff from his patrol car when he noticed a tiny child by himself in a parked car, according to the authorities.

According to investigators, the officer took a lockout tool from his patrol car, unlocked the car, and took the youngster out.

After receiving treatment from Lakewood First Aid, the child—who authorities found had been in the car for twenty-four minutes—was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where he received treatment before being released.

Feldman was taken to the Ocean County Jail but had been released by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, according to a review of jail records online.

The Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit, and Lakewood police worked together on the investigation.