Viral video: Woman locks herself in hot car to raise awareness


A Florida woman never thought she'd be showing the world how it feels to be locked in a hot car with the windows up.

Chelsi Bedell of Fernandina Beach said she could barely handle 30 minutes, not even a quarter of the four hours that deputies say an 18-month-old child from Yulee had to endure last week.

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"I think it's carelessness," Bedell said.

Michelle King, the mother of the Yulee boy, was taken in by deputies. She's now facing child neglect charges.

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Bedell said that incident was the driving force behind her decision to try the "hot car challenge," post it on Facebook, and encourage her friends and family to do the same, all to raise awareness.

The viral video is also getting some negative feedback.

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One person wrote, "There has to be a better way to spread awareness with this."

Another comment read, "This challenge isnt smart at all, people are going to put their lives at risk."

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"I thought it was fine. It was all in good intentions. I wasn't putting myself in harm's way. Some people may think so. Some don't," Bedell said.

"It was very powerful," state Rep. Janet Adkins said of the video.

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She is on board with addressing the issue, even if it means stiffer penalties for parents.

"That's something we need to look at. I've asked my staff to research what are the various penalties, and obviously it depends on the outcome of the situation.  But our office will be looking into this," Adkins said.

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