By Hayley Crombleholme

FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) -- Parents in Palm Coast are facing charges of child neglect without great bodily harm after they're accused of leaving their baby in the car while they were inside a bar.

According to an arrest report, deputies were called out Friday about a baby reportedly being left in a car.

When deputies arrived, they found a car running with the doors unlocked and keys in the ignition. A baby was in the back seat.

The baby was OK. But the report says the child's parents, Clarisse and Norman Finnegan, had been inside a bar nearby.

According to an arrest report, Clarisse Finnegan told deputies she only came to the bar to get money from her husband to get some things from CVS for the baby. The report says she told deputies she only left the child in the car because she believed smoking was allowed inside the bar.

Both she and her husband said she wasn't inside long. She said she only had a few sips of a drink a bartender gave her.

Sheriff Rick Staly said both parents are facing charges.

"They're very fortunate the car wasn't stolen with the infant in the back seat. They're, they're lucky that the car didn't stall, and then it became a very hot car, something happened to the child. This incident could have really had a different outcome if it wasn't for the witness that saw something and said something," Staly said.

According to the arrest report, a co-worker of Norman Finnegan was contacted to take care of the infant while their parents were taken into custody. The Department of Children and Families was contacted.

Both of the Finnegans have since been released from jail.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.