The heartbreaking news of children dying in hot cars continues this year, as at least six children aged four or younger have died so far in 2021 after being left in hot cars. The National Safety Council reports that 54% of the incidents where children were left in hot cars were accidental and occurred when parents or caregivers forgot that the child was in the car.
In one of the incidents this year, a young baby was being fostered by a hospital worker in Puyallup, Washington. The woman had been at work for nine hours and had dropped off her other children before parking her vehicle with the foster baby still inside. The baby was found unresponsive after 5 p.m. and could not be revived. The incident occurred on May 24th, and outside temperatures were between 70°F and 75°F, with an internal vehicle reading of 110°F.
In another case in Florida earlier this year, an 11-month-old baby was left in a parked car during a church service and found unresponsive three hours later. Attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful, and the baby was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. Florida is the second-ranking state for child hot car deaths, with 96 cases occurring between 1990 and 2019.
Parents and caregivers are advised to follow the recommendations of Kids and Cars, a children’s safety organization. They recommend that parents place something important (like their cell phone) in the backseat with their child, so they must check the back seat before leaving the vehicle. Furthermore, if they change their routine for childcare drop off, set up a system with daycare or guardians to contact the parent if the child does not arrive as scheduled.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the internal temperature of a car can rise 19 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 minutes, which can also increase heart rate and put stress on the cardiovascular system of small children. A child’s core body temperature can rise three to five times faster than that of an adult, and can become life-threateningly high within minutes.
The risk of leaving a child in a hot car is a serious issue, and one that demands action from parents, caregivers, and society as a whole. Each tragedy is preventable, and we must all work to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
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