VIDEO: Baby left alone on train in while father steps out to smoke

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WLS) -- A train left a station in Ohio with a baby on board - without the child's father.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) released surveillance video Wednesday of the Jan. 12 incident.

The video shows the baby's father brought the child onto the train in a carrier just before 10:45 a.m., while the train was stopped at Louis Stokes/Windmere station. He placed the carrier and a diaper bag on two seats near another passenger in what appears to be an otherwise empty train car.

The video shows he then exited the train. RTA officials said he left the train car to smoke a cigarette on the Windmere platform.

The train then exited the station, heading west toward Superior Rapid Station. The video shows the passenger seated near the baby run to the door as the train started moving, trying to get someone's attention. The father also ran alongside the train, in what appears to be an effort to notify the conductor of what was going on.

RTA officials said before the train arrived at the Superior Rapid, Transit police and operations staff responded to the scene and told the operator what happened. The train returned safely to Windmere, where the father and child were reunited.

RTA officials stressed that at no point during the incident were the child or any other passengers in danger. Trains can travel between Windmere and Superior Rapid within a minute, officials said.