Four young children, from 3 to 8 years old, were left unattended inside a vehicle in a mall

parking lot Monday while their mother was in an office for about half an hour, State Police at

Clarence reported today.

Troopers charged Kimberly D. Bertino, 27, of East Otto, with four counts of endangering the

welfare of a child, following the incident in the Eastern Hills Mall parking lot. The woman

had gone inside to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Investigators from the state police and Erie County Child Protective Services are

continuing to investigate the incident.