PITTSBURGH – A 1-year-old girl was found strapped in a car seat, rain-soaked and covered with leaves and dirt, after her mother left her for about 10 hours with the sun roof open as a violent storm raged, police said.

Brandi Morgan, 25, faces criminal charges after a passer-by discovered her baby in the car Wednesday morning. Morgan was found in an apartment across the street.

“At first, she apparently forgot she had a child because she denied it, but when we asked about the baby in the car, she said she was working and basically forgot about her baby,” Cmdr. RaShall Brackney said.

Brackney said Morgan could not offer proof of employment or explain where she had been.

The baby, wearing only a diaper, was treated at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for exposure and placed in county custody.

Morgan is free on $10,000 bond on charges of reckless endangerment, child endangerment, leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and resisting arrest. Her preliminary hearing is set for July 25. A phone number for Morgan could not immediately be found.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)