Dad calls 911 after he accidentally leaves baby in car, hops on train

A dad who was on his way to work realized too late that he’d left his 1-year-old baby strapped in her car seat — in his SUV that was parked at the train station after he went to work.

The Massachusetts father had dropped his older child off at school but forgot about his snoozing baby until after he’d taken the train and headed out to work for the day. He had exited his train and was walking to work when he realized his terrible mistake. He immediately boarded another train to go back to the station and called 911 to direct rescue workers to his parked vehicle so they could free his child.

“I left my 1-year-old baby in my SUV by accident this morning at North Quincy station,” the man said in his 911 call that has been released to the public. “I’m on my way back to the station now.”

More: I let my kids see all the nipples because human bodies aren’t shameful

Thankfully, only 35 minutes after leaving his daughter in the vehicle, the girl was rescued by emergency personnel. As the temperatures that day were fortunately mild, she suffered no ill effects and was returned to her mother. Her father will not face charges.

The dad, who has requested that he remain anonymous, said this experience was one of the worst of his life, and understandably so. The outcome could have been far more grave — imagine if he hadn’t suddenly remembered while heading out of the station or if the temperature had been soaring that day. Often, children who are left in vehicles are noticed and rescued by passersby, but that is definitely not a common occurrence in a parking lot like this, where many commuters park in the morning and don’t come back until their workday is over.

More: Cruel dad makes son destroy Xbox for getting bad grades

What could have been a terrible conclusion to this hair-raising story wound up being no more than another cautionary tale for the rest of us, but for this father and his family, they will never, ever forget it. And a cautionary tale it is — no matter how busy you are, how tired you are and how lulled by routine you are, maybe this report will help remind you that your child is still in your car when you go to work or hop a train for a commute.

Summer will be here before we know it, and I hope I never have to read another story about a hot car death ever again.