Full Notification

Suffolk County Police have arrested an Amityville child care provider who left an 8-month-old girl and a 4-year-old girl unattended in a locked vehicle in Melville.

A witness noticed two young children alone in the backseat of a 2005 Honda CRV that was parked in the Costco parking lot located at 625 Broadhollow Road, Melville, at 2:10 p.m. on October 1. The good Samaritan unlocked a door through an open window and took the 4-year-old girl and the 8-month-old girl, who was not in a proper child restraint seat, into the store for safety.

It appears that the girls, who were not injured, were in the unattended vehicle a minimum of 10 minutes before they were found.

Bridget Erwat, 49, of 26 Ira Court, Amityville, was arrested and charged with two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Erwat, who operates Bridget’s Children’s Place out of her home, posted bail and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date. A notification was made to the Suffolk County Department of Social Services Child Protective Services Bureau.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.