Cops: Kids, 5 mos. and 7, left in car

A woman who left her 5-month-old son and 7-year-old daughter in an unlocked car late last night to go shopping at an Upper Darby supermarket is anything but a supermom, according to police.

Around 11 p.m., a person walking in the parking lot of the Acme grocery store at Lansdowne and Cedar avenues in Upper Darby heard a young child crying "hysterically" in a Lexus station wagon and called police, said Upper Darby Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

Upon arrival, officers opened the unlocked car and found a 5-month-old boy crying and a 7-year-old girl sleeping in the back seat, Chitwood said.

"While the police are there, out comes mom with a couple of bags of groceries," he said.

Police estimate the children were left alone in the car for 45 minutes. Their mother, Marren Mantee, allegedly told police both of her kids were asleep when she went into the store to do some shopping.

Mantee, 37, of Cedar Avenue near Lathrop Road in Upper Darby, was charged with recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses.

Chitwood estimates his officers have locked up a dozen people in the last year or so for leaving their children unattended in cars.

"My philosophy is zero tolerance," he said. "It's unconscionable to leave children in the car."