TWIN LAKES - A woman who says she "wanted to look better" after giving birth a week earlier reportedly left her toddler and newborn in the car while she went to a tanning salon.

Yolanda E. Kruse, 24, of 4315 Kennedy Drive, Racine, was arrested May 23 in Twin Lakes. She faces two charges of first-degree reckless endangerment. If convicted she could face up to 25 years imprisonment, which includes time in prison and on extended supervision.

Kruse went to Sun Kissed Tanning Salon, 316 N. Lake Ave., in Twin Lakes, shortly after noon on May 23, according to court records.

"She came in and I took down her information," said Stacey Rhyner, 24, an employee of the tanning salon. "She said she was just in town for Memorial Day weekend."

A few minutes later, Rhyner went to do the laundry. "I happened to have the back door open because it was hot," she said.

That's when she heard Kruse's 22-month-old daughter crying for her mommy. "I looked for a parent," Rhyner said. "I just didn't realize it was my customer."

When she couldn't find an adult responsible for the child, Rhyner called police. "When they came, they told me it was the person who was tanning," she said.

Rhyner, 24, has two children of her own. She said she told Kruse, "I didn't know they were your kids. I would have watched them for you."

The officer who responded to Rhyner's call reported seeing the 22-month-old girl moving around inside the car and saw Kruse's 1-week-old son in a car seat, with sun shining directly on him.

The officer told Rhyner to get Kruse, who came out crying and asked the officer not to take her kids away. The officer reported Kruse admitted she was tanning for about 10 minutes.

The children were turned over to their father, who the officer said was very upset. The father said he did not know Kruse had gone tanning, and that he believed she was picking up food.

Police used a portable thermometer to check the temperature. It was 80 degrees outside; 93 degrees in the car, and 102 degrees in the sunlit area where the baby had been sitting, according to police.

Kruse later told police she had dropped her boyfriend off at a lake with his boat then told him she was taking the children to pick up Chinese food. Instead, she decided to go tanning. She parked her car in the sun and rolled the windows down, according to police. She said she left the baby, wearing a long fleece outfit, in his car seat.

She reportedly told police she wanted to go tanning because she wanted to look better because she had just given birth a week ago; she admitted she knew what she was doing was wrong.

Kruse is out of jail, on a $5,000 signature bond. She is due in court at 1 p.m. Monday.