Kids Left In Parking Lot While Mother Plays Poker In Bar

WYOMING (Newschannel 3) - A woman in Wyoming is in trouble with the police, after leaving her three children in the car while she went to play poker in a bar.

It happened around 1 a.m. early Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Woody's Pressbox in Wyoming.

Police tell Newschannel 3 that the woman's three kids, ages 5,10, and 15, were left alone in the car.

Child advocates say that one out of five times a child is left inside a vehicle with no supervision, it's on purpose, and more than 30 children in the U.S. die each year from being left in a vehicle for too long.

In this case, police say the mother left her kids for a substantial amount of time in the car, and didn't have a reasonable explanation.

Melinda Howard with Safe Kids says there are too many things wrong with the scenario.

"Maybe there's not emergency phone, maybe somebody can come up to the vehicle and see there's kids inside," she told Newschannel 3. "And sometimes they get distracted, they don't realize how much time is passed, but it's absolutely dangerous."

The woman's name is not being release at this time, pending an her arraignment hearing. At this point, the only criminal charge against her is a misdemeanor.