Panicked Winnipeg mom questions auto security system after accidental lockout

WINNIPEG – For the second time this week, a parent in Manitoba has had to deal with the frightening situation of being accidentally locked out of a vehicle when a child is inside during sweltering heat.

Winnipeg mother Paula Walterson was downtown on a blazing hot Thursday afternoon when she put her 13-month-old daughter in her car seat and placed her keys in a rear-door pouch.

Walterson suddenly realized the driver’s side door wouldn’t open because the vehicle had somehow locked on its own with the keys inside after she had used her command-start remote.

The air conditioning was on, but Walterson had to wait about 10 minutes before an emergency crew arrived to break a side window and retrieve her uninjured child.

On Wednesday, a Brandon tow-truck driver had to break a window to rescue a toddler when a vehicle automatically locked itself after a mother had placed her toddler inside.

Walterson said she “absolutely panicked” when she realized she couldn’t get into her car.

“Sheer panic. Sheer panic. It’s boiling outside and there was like nothing around to smash the window with. It was pretty scary.”

The concerned mother said she’s not sure how the doors got locked, but noted this is the second time it’s happened to her, although her daughter wasn’t in the vehicle during the first incident.

“The keys are not supposed to be locking in the car,” said Walterson.

Angele Young, a spokeswoman for CAA Manitoba, said the auto agency gets many calls about children locked in vehicles.

“A lot of times are actually accidental. Things like your kid actually locks themselves in the vehicle but doesn’t really get how to unlock that car.”

Young said the CAA advises car owners to always carry a spare set of keys. Failing that, drivers should call an emergency service, such as a towing company, or 911 if a child gets locked inside. (CTV Winnipeg, The Canadian Press)