TAMPA, FL -- Ashley Halverson loves her daughter Layla more than anything.
"Having a child just changes your life. I love her more than anything I ever imagined. I would do anything to protect her," she said.
But last week, Ashley felt helpless when her 9-month-old was accidentally locked in their car.
"I was petrified and I tried to remain calm for her. Our Escalade was tinted really dark so we couldn't see in. We could hear her crying and I tried to put my face up to the window so she could see us and be comforted by me, but myself I was terrified and did not know what was going on. I could not see anything in there."
Ashley and Joe Abdo immediately called OnStar, a company whose ad campaign promises peace of mind in any emergency situation even if your keys are locked in the car. But Ashley said what she was told was shocking.
"They advised us that our membership with them had expired and that there was nothing that they could do. We said we would give them a credit card over the phone to renew it right then and there. "
Ashely said the operator said they had sent them a notice. She claims she never got one.
"I was pretty shocked in this situation that there was a baby stuck in the car and that there was nothing that they could do. I mean it is as simple as pressing a button and unlocking the car."
ABC Action News reporter Sarina Fazan contacted OnStar. Jocelyn Allen, the Vice President of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications said, "While we typically do not comment on individual cases, we feel this particular instance merits an explanation."
"When an OnStar subscription has lapsed, the OnStar equipment in the vehicle is deactivated. The only way in which to reactivate the equipment is to press the blue OnStar button located inside the vehicle. In this particular instance, reactivation was not possible because the owners were locked out of the vehicle."
"We are currently investigating this particular case. We do not condone such a careless attitude for the safety of our subscribers."
Ashley ended up smashing the window of her car. Leila had been locked in for fifteen minutes.
"At that point she had stopped crying. We could not hear her anymore. So we said 'okay just break the window right now'."
She said she had no idea her contract had expired. Even so, she wonders why OnStar would not take action.
"I would really encourage them to change their policy of the way they deal with emergency situations such as a baby being locked in a car. There should be no excuse that they would not open a vehicle like that."
This mother is not taking any chances. She has already gotten rid of her car and has come up with a back up plan.
She bought what is called a life hammer.
"I can just tap the window with this (hammer) and it will break the window. God forbid something like this happens again, I can just bust the window right open."
