A woman who was arrested after leaving her six-month-old twins in her minivan while she ducked into a NJ CVS—only for the minivan to roll away—is insisting that it was just a "momentary lapse in judgment." Natalie Akselrod was arrested for endangering the welfare of a child, and told the Bergen Record that the eight hours in processing was the longest she had been away from her children. Akselrod added, "They're my life. I would never put them in danger."
The 35-year-old mother explains that one of her sons had been sick—he went to the emergency room on Sunday—and had slept in nearly a day. When she went to the Fair Lawn CVS, she noticed he was finally sleeping, "This was the first time he fell asleep in 22 hours, and I did think, take him out in the pouring rain and put them in the stroller? Or just run in?" So she ran in, leaving the babies in the car. But then the minivan, which was in neutral "started to roll through the parking lot."
According to the Record, "A witness, Elliot Hecht, said the van rolled out of its parking spot and almost hit another car that was driving through the lot. He said a passer-by pulled a crying baby out of the car, which apparently was not locked, and the child fell silent as the man cradled him in his arms."
Akselrod is due for a hearing tonight at 6 p.m. Her lawyer said she would plead not guilty and that Akselfrod was upset at being away from her children for so long since she is breastfeeding, "I think my client has suffered enough. This happens in towns across America. Moms have errands to run. I don’t think we want to put moms in jail for doing what they need to do."
