Shocking Police Cam Video Shows What It Took to Save a Toddler Trapped in a Hot Car

The idea of a toddler being trapped in a hot car is upsetting enough, but when the desperate attempts to save a child are caught on a police body camera, the terrifying experience is made far more real.

When Utah mom Alma Zamarripa discovered that her 6-year-old son accidentally locked her 18-month-old daughter in the family's car — with the keys inside — she acted quickly by calling 911 and urging her daughter to unlock the door.

"I kept telling her in Spanish to click the buttons, to pull on the knob, and she wouldn't, she couldn't capture it, she's never tried to open a door," Zamarripa told Fox 13 News immediately following the incident yesterday.

When police officer Matt Woods arrived — with his body camera recording — 15 minutes had already passed, and although it was only 78 degrees outside, it was closer to 100 degrees inside the vehicle.

"The child was screaming and crying," said Woods. "She was sweating profusely, she looked to the point where she was getting endangered there."

They had two options: wait for another officer to arrive with a lockbox or break the window.

Zamarripa didn't hesitate: she gave Woods a hammer.

The gripping body cam footage shows his attempts — at least six powerful swings into the shatterproof glass — before he finally broke through. Woods cut his fingers when reaching through the jagged glass, but his first priority was removing the toddler.

After she was placed in her mother's arms, they stood in the shade with water until paramedics arrived to determine that she was going to be fine.