MELVILLE - Suffolk County Police today arrested an Amityville child-care provider that left two young girls, ages 8 months and 4 years, unattended in a locked vehicle in Melville Monday afternoon.

A witness noticed two young children alone in the backseat of an SUV that was parked in the Costco parking lot located at 625 Broadhollow Road, Melville, at 2:10 p.m.  The good samaritan unlocked a door through an open window and took the girls, including the infant who was not in a proper child restraint seat, into the store for safety.  

It appears that the girls, who were not injured, were in the unattended vehicle a minimum of 10 minutes before they were found.

Bridget Erwat, 49, of 26 Ira Court, Amityville, was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.  Erwat, who operates Bridget’s Children’s Place out of her home, posted bail and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.  A notification was made to the Suffolk County Department of Social Services Child Protective Services Bureau.