MANSFIELD – No parent thinks they could ever forget their child in the backseat of a car on a warm summer day. But it happens – and it happens far too often – with often deadly results.
Every year in the United States, an average of 38 children – one every 10 days — die from heat-related injuries after being left alone in a vehicle. Since 1998, 575 children have died from heatstroke-related injuries after being left in a car. In 73 percent of those cases, the child was less than 2 years old.
It doesn’t take much effort to find news accounts, which reflect a wide diversity among those parents making this often fatal mistake.
It truly can happen to any parent. Just within the last month:
— On May 28, a 13-month-old toddler in Florence, S.C., died after her dad left the child inside a car rather than drop her off at daycare that morning. As temperatures outside rose into the 90s, inside the car sizzled. It wasn’t until several hours later that the dad, who worked inside a nearby printing operation, reportedly returned to his car and discovered his child’s tragic fate. The 30-year-old father was charged with unlawful neglect of a child.
— On May 21, a mother in St. Louis was cited after police said she left her child alone in a car for 45 minutes while she was inside shopping at Babies ‘R Us. Police said another customer later found the baby in the car with the air conditioner running. Police said they are concerned that a child who is left alone in a car could be a target for a criminal to do further harm .”To leave your child of a minor age in any kind of condition or circumstances which may lead to their harm, being unattended in a vehicle if they’re an infant or a young child in a car seat,” police said.
— On May 16, in Salina, Kansas, a 26-year-old Salina man was arrested on charges of child endangerment after he allegedly left children ages 1 and 5 alone in a vehicle for more than 14 minutes. The man had his three children with him in the car and stopped at Big Lots to take the 3-year-old inside to use the bathroom, according to Capt. Jim Norton of the Salina Police Department. He allegedly left his 1-year-old and 5-year-old in the car, with an empty propane tank in the front seat, Norton said. “He felt like he couldn’t handle the three kids together in the store so he chose to leave the two others in the car and hope the 5-year-old could watch the 1-year-old,” police said.
It’s not just by accident, either. Sometimes it’s a conscious decision by parents who do not understand the dangers.
According to a new study by Safe Kids Worldwide, 14 percent of parents say they have left a child alone inside a parked vehicle, despite the risk of heatstroke. Based on the U.S. population, that number is projected to be nearly 2 million parents transporting more than 3.3 million children who say they have intentionally left their infants, toddler, and kindergarten child alone in a parked vehicle.
It doesn’t take much for a child to die of heatstroke. When outside temperatures are even in the low 80’s, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach deadly levels in only 10 minutes — even with a window rolled down two inches. Children’s bodies in particular overheat easily, and infants and children under 4 years old are at the greatest risk for heat-related illness.
So be sure to beat the heat — and check the backseat!
(Carl Hunnell is the public information and community outreach supervisor for Richland County Children Services.)
TIPS ON CHILD/VEHICLE SAFETY
Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle — even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running and the air conditioning is on.
Make a habit of looking in the vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away.
Ask the childcare provider to call if the child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
Do things that serve as a reminder that a child is in the vehicle, such as placing a purse or briefcase in the back seat to ensure no child is accidentally left in the vehicle, or writing a note or using a stuffed animal placed in the driver’s view to indicate a child is in the car seat.
Teach children that a vehicle is not a play area and store keys out of a child’s reach.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
