Woman accused of leaving infant in hot car is a teacher

Karen Gruen is a speech therapist with the Lakewood School District in Ocean County. Watch video

HOWELL -- A woman accused of leaving her baby inside her car on a sweltering day in a department store parking lot is a teacher with the Lakewood School District, police said.

Karen Gruen, 33, of Lakewood, is a speech therapist in the district, Howell police Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez said.

Steve Eckel and the infant police say he pulled from a hot car in Howell Monday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Courtesy of Steve Eckel)  

Gruen is a tenured teacher who earns a salary of $57,636, according to a Board of Education agenda dated May 11, 2016. 

It's unclear what will happen to Gruen's employment with the Lakewood School District. An attorney representing the township's Board of Education, Marc Zitomer, declined to comment on Gruen's status with the district.

Gruen could not be reached for comment.

She is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a second-degree crime, and was released with a summons.

The case, however, was turned over to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, a spokesman, Charles Webster, confirmed.

Gruen is accused of leaving her 4-month-old baby inside her blue 2006 Nissan Sentra with all the windows up for approximately 40 minutes on Monday at the Kohl's parking lot on Route 9, authorities said. Temperatures on that day were just below 90 degrees.

Steve Eckel, a 53-year-old retired Middlesex County sheriff's officer, was alerted to the infant in the vehicle when he heard the baby crying. Eckel grabbed a sledgehammer from his vehicle and used it to break the front passenger's side window.

Eckel unlocked the Sentra and removed the baby from the car with the assistance of Sarah Mazzone, a patron who happened to be walking by the car the same time as Eckel.

While Howell police officers were speaking to Eckel and Mazzone, they saw Gruen arrive at her vehicle and start to panic. They told her that her baby was in the store and being treated by Howell First Aid.

The baby was turned over to the father, police said.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.