Experts say even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a child in a car, and the end result can be injury or even death. Twenty-two children have died in hot cars so far this year.
A New Jersey toddler died after being left in a hot car in her family’s own driveway Tuesday, officials said.
Volunteer firefighter Megan Kingston, who lives across the street from the family, tried desperately to save the 2-year-old girl’s life. After pulling the child from the vehicle, Kingston performed CPR and tried to cool her down before emergency responders arrived.
The toddler, who hasn’t been identified, was inside a gray Honda Civic for about seven hours, police said. The circumstances behind the child being forgotten in the car were not clear.
Temperatures in Somerset were in the 90s, but it would have only taken a few minutes for the inside of the car to reach 125 degrees. Additionally, a child’s body overheats three to five times faster than an adult body, experts say.
Neighbors said they would never forget the cries of anguish from the child’s mother when she realized her daughter had died.
“I saw the mother come out and collapse to the ground,” one neighbor told Inside Edition. “The paramedics took her to the ambulance and took her away.”
Twenty-two children have died in hot cars so far this year.
Four of those children died within the span of a week in August, according to Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit is dedicated to saving the lives of children and pets in and around motor vehicles. More than 1,000 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990, the organization reports. “Even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a sleeping baby in a car; and the end result can be injury or even death,” Kids and Car Safety says. “The most dangerous mistake a parent or caregiver can make is to think leaving a child alone in a vehicle could never happen to them or their family.”
The average number of U.S. child hot car deaths is 38 per year, which averages to about one every nine days.
Eighty-seven percent of children who have died in a hot car are 3 and younger, the organization reports. Fifty-four percent of heatstroke deaths in vehicles involve children 1 and younger.
“Rear-facing child safety seats do not look any different to the driver if they are occupied or empty, which can cause a parent to think the child is no longer in the car with them,” the organization says.
And 68% of children who get into vehicles on their own are male and most are between the ages of 1 and 4.
“Kids and Car Safety believes the solution to these preventable tragedies is a combination of detection and alert technology in all vehicles and education,” the organization says. “This technology is readily available and affordable and should be included in all vehicles.”
Tips parents and caregivers should consider include:
- Place the child’s diaper bag or item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is with you.
- Make it a habit of opening the back door every time you park to ensure no one is left behind. To enforce this habit, place an item that you can’t start your day without in the back seat (employee badge, laptop, phone, handbag, etc.)
- Ask your childcare provider to call you right away if your child hasn’t arrived as scheduled.
- Clearly announce and confirm who is getting each child out of the vehicle. Miscommunication can lead to thinking someone else removed the child.
- Keep vehicles locked at all times, especially in the garage or driveway. Ask neighbors and visitors to do the same.
- Never leave car keys within reach of children.
- Use childproofing knob covers and door alarms to prevent children from exiting your home unnoticed.
- Teach children to honk the horn or turn on hazard lights if they become stuck inside a car.
- If a child is missing, immediately check the inside, floorboards and trunk of all vehicles in the area carefully, even if they’re locked.
- Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
- If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 immediately. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
- Be especially careful during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays. This is when many tragedies occur.
- Use drive-thru services when available (restaurant, bank, pharmacy, dry cleaner) and pay for gas at the pump.
