Woman with severe disabilities abandoned in a car for 9 days with near freezing temps, police say

 A 28-year-old woman with severe disabilities was abandoned in a car for nine days in freezing temperatures before she was found by employees of a towing yard.

Police in Kent, Washington state, said that the woman was abandoned in the car on Feb. 5 by her mother at a gas station. That gas station asked for the car to be towed away without knowing about the woman in the backseat.

Bonafacio Pauza of Skyway Towing told KING-TV that the woman's life was saved when they searched the car after getting a phone call on Valentine's Day from the police about a missing woman.

“We sent one of our drivers out, he unlocks the car and had to go through it. She was laying in the backseat, and had a whole bunch of clothes and stuff on top of her,” Pauza explained. “She was bad enough that my employee immediately contacted us and we called 911, had an ambulance and the police dispatched out here.”

Pauza explained that it's common for employees not to search through cars that they tow.

“For the most part, just like the law says, we tend to bring the car and give it back to them in the exact same condition it came in,” he added.

He said that their driver knocked on the window, but no one responded when they went to tow the car. The doors were also locked on the car.

Kent Police said that a member of the family had called them and begged them to have the car searched. They said that likely saved her life from the "near freezing" temperatures she endured.

She was admitted into a hospital in severe condition. It's not known whether the 45-year-old mother will face charges over the incident.

“The driver who found her is real excited that he was able to find her," added Pauza. "Often times with towing companies, you don’t get to be a hero very often."

Here's a local news report about the harrowing incident:

Officers rescue woman with disabilities trapped in car for 9 days at tow yard | FOX 13 Seattlewww.youtube.com