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Wednesday, June 25, 2003

By Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

A 45-year-old mentally challenged woman who suffers from cerebral palsy was treated for heat exposure after she was left in a sweltering van while its driver visited a tattoo parlor, Pittsburgh police said.

Police Cmdr. Maurita Bryant said a 21-year-old woman, who was not identified, will be charged with reckless endangerment and neglect of a dependent person.

At around 4:45 p.m. yesterday, Bryant said, the victim and the suspect, an employee of Community Options Inc., pulled into the Shadyside Plaza parking lot on South Highland Avenue.

Community Options provides housing and job-seeking assistance to disabled persons as they move out of institutions.

Bryant said an employee at Shadyside Valet Co. dry cleaners noticed the van when it arrived. At around 5:20 p.m., Bryant said, the same employee stepped out of the building for a cigarette break and noticed the woman in the van. Bryant said the employee went to several businesses trying to locate the driver.

Ben Zehner, an artist at Immortal Tattoo, just across the street, said the van driver was there, having paw prints tattooed on her leg.

Zehner said he didn't know the woman's name but believed she had had work done at the parlor previously.

"She was sitting down talking on the cellular phone like nothing was going on," he said.

Bryant said after the Shadyside Valet employee was unable to locate the driver, she phoned 911. Paramedics entered the van by breaking the passenger window.

At the time, the temperature was in the high 80s.

The victim was treated and released from Mercy Hospital.

"It could have been much worse," said Bryant. "It's really great that the employee at Shadyside Valet did what she did."

Nate Guidry can be reached at nguidry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3865.