NOVI, Mich. — Katie Corbin thought that her car wasn't supposed to lock if the key fob was inside. But when she was filling up her car at a gas station, the doors unexpectedly locked — locking her one-year-old toddler, Joey, inside.
“At this point I’m panicking it’s 92 degrees outside,” Corbin said.
Corbin felt even more helpless because her phone was inside the car.
Luckily, other bystanders called 911 and tried to help. One woman ran over with a mallet and an off-duty firefighter also came over to open the door.
Corbin said police arrived about 10 minutes later and opened the door to get Joey.
“He was just pouring sweat and I got him out and he stopped crying immediately just laid his head on my chest," she said. "I just squeezed him and held him.”
Corbin has only had her 2018 Chevy Malibu for about a month but has used keyless entry systems in the past.
“I thought that having a keyless entry car meant that I could leave my key in my car while I went and pumped gas,” she said. “That was not the case.”
After the ordeal, Corbin called the dealership. They told her if the key fob is inside of a purse or in any type of fabric it can cut the signal off and lock the doors.
The dealership employee also told Corbin to turn off "passive lock" setting on the car to prevent a similar accident in the future.
Corbin says she will never leave the key fob in her car again.
Now, she’s hoping her story will prevent others from going through the same ordeal.
“Technology failed me and my child was or in harm’s way,” she said. “...Be careful, don’t trust technology.”
