My Brother Helped Rescue A Three Year Old Locked In a Lotto Booth

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Last week there was a kind of quiet drama in front of our house. A 3 year old has locked herself into a Lotto booth by closing a tower bolt from the inside of the door. The Lotto booth was rented to a family of two sisters and a brother in law. The sisters worked in shifts and each had children that accompanied them. These children were kept inside the booth while tickets were sold to the public. The mother came outside the booth to purchase some snacks and soft drinks and when she returned the child has slip the tower bolt closed. Her frantic coaxing and calling and begging for the child to open the door was unsuccessful. The child was answering but did not seem to understand why she was locked in. Or that she could open the tower bolt from the inside. After about 5 minutes, my brother and a man drinking in the bar took a wrecking bar and tried to pry the solid steel door open. After much effort they were able to breach the door. The child was rescued but has turned fiery red with all the commotion. Later the door was fixed so that the place could be locked. Lotto booths have a lot of cash available, especially when they have to pay people if they have won small bets. Here were some of the questions that was raised: 1. Was it an accident and the child just learn to close the door from watching others do so? Is that possible? 2. Was the mother negligent to leave the child alone? Should she have taken the child with her? 3. The father could not be reached as he had gone to the city to conduct business…and keep his phone turned off. 4. The mother did not want to call the police or fire department for help because she was scared of her husband reaction, and she did not want people to know. What do you think? What would you have done? Happily this incident ended with a good ending…but it could have easily been a tragedy.