How is it that parents “unknowingly” leave their children in the car?

Kids and Car Safety also noted that three other child deaths – including one in Indialantic, Florida (see below) – could be linked to overheated cars. Autopsy results are pending.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Richland County, South Carolina
  • Date: May 3, 2024
  • Child’s age: 3 years
  • How: Child gained access to the vehicle
• Bradenton
  • Date: May 20, 2024
  • Child’s age: 6 years
  • How: Left in the vehicle
• Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Date: May 22, 2024
  • Age of child: unknown
  • How: Left in the vehicle Unknowingly left in the vehicle
• Santee, California
  • Date: June 13, 2024
  • Age of child: 2 months
  • How: Left in the vehicle
• Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Date: June 26, 2024
  • Age of child: 8 years
  • How: Left in the vehicle
• Marietta, Georgia
  • Date: July 2, 2024
  • Child’s age: 2 years
  • How: Unknown
• Houston, Texas
  • Date: July 3, 2024
  • Child’s age: 4 years
  • How: Accidentally left in the vehicle

Further deaths caused by overheated cars must be clarified after autopsy results

• Indialantic
  • Date: June 7, 2024
  • Child’s age: 3 years
  • How: Unknown
• Washington, DC
  • Date: June 14, 2024
  • Child’s age: 4 years
  • How: Unknown
• Perry County, Mississippi
  • Date: June 25, 2024
  • Child’s age: 3 years
  • How: Unknown

How many deaths from overheated cars were there in Florida in 2024?

Watch: Florida deputy breaks window and rescues girl from hot car

Flagler County Sheriff’s officers had to break a window to rescue a young girl from a sweltering car.

The death of a 6-year-old girl in Bradenton on May 20, 2024 was the first in Florida and the second in the United States this year.

In May, a 6-year-old girl in Bradenton died after being left in a hot car with the windows rolled up for just over two hours. Hospital staff reportedly measured her core body temperature at 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

Markise Outing, 24, of Ellenton, was arrested and charged with child murder for leaving his girlfriend’s daughter in the car parked in front of his work, according to a news release from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Another child death on June 7, 2024 in Indialantic is pending. The 3-year-old child was reported missing and later found dead near a home. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has not released any further information on the child’s cause of death.

How do deaths occur in overheated cars?

“About 88% of children who die in overheated cars are three years old or younger, and the majority (55%) were unknowingly abandoned by otherwise loving, responsible parents or caregivers,” says the report “Kids and Car Safety.”

The breakdown:

• Left unnoticed in the vehicle: 55%
• Independently gained access to the vehicle: 25%
• Deliberately left in the vehicle: 15%
• Other or circumstances unknown: 4%

How is it that parents “unknowingly” leave their children in the car?

“The majority of parents and guardians are misinformed and want to believe that a tragedy could never happen to them in a hot car,” Kids and Car Safety wrote on its website.

“In over half of the deaths caused by overheating cars, the person responsible for the child unknowingly left the child in the vehicle. In most cases, this happens to loving, caring and protective parents. It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone.”

Kids and Car Safety has documented how parents or caregivers unknowingly left children in their cars:

• Should have been dropped off at daycare: 43%
• Misunderstandings between two supervisors: 11%
• Left by a child care provider: 12%
• Left behind unknowingly by the caregiver: 34%

Florida ranks second in the US in the number of children killed by overheated cars

These are the five states with the highest number of children dying in overheated cars (documents from Kids and Car Safety):

• Texas: 155; 1991–2023
• Florida 118, 1992-2023
• California: 64 (1990-2022)
• Arizona: 47 (1994-2021)
• Georgia: 45 (1993-2023)

How hot can it get in a car and how quickly?

Dangers of hot cars: Video shows what happens when you leave a child or pet in a hot car

Escambia County Fire Chief Ray Melton speaks about the dangers of leaving children and pets in hot vehicles during a demonstration in Pensacola.

Gregg Pachkowski, Pensacola News Journal

Although most of these tragedies occur in the summer, deaths occur every month.

Studies have shown that vehicles quickly become dangerously hot even in moderate outdoor temperatures. If the outside temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature inside the vehicle can rise to 125 degrees Fahrenheit within 60 minutes, with 80 percent of the temperature increase occurring in the first 30 minutes, the National Safety Council said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, on a 72-degree day, the interior of a car can be fatal in less than 30 minutes.

Interior temperatures in vehicles can be as much as 10 degrees higher than outside temperatures. According to Consumer Reports, even on a cool day when the outside temperature is 16 degrees, the temperature inside a car can rise to over 40 degrees within an hour.

First look, then conclude: Safety tips to prevent children from dying in a hot car

NoHeatStroke.org and the U.S. Department of Transportation have provided the following tips:

• Never leave children unattended in a vehicle, even for a minute.
• Always look in the back seat. Leave your wallet or purse there as a reminder.
• Ask your daycare to call if your child does not show up when expected.
• Always keep your vehicle locked and the keys out of reach.
• Keep car keys out of the reach of children and make it clear to them that a car is not a playground.
• Call 911 if you see a child alone in a vehicle.

What can you do if you see a child locked in a car?

“If you see a child alone in a locked car, act immediately and call 911,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

Florida state law protects people who break into vehicles to rescue vulnerable people or pets from harm as long as:

• There is no way for the person or pet to get out
• You have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person or pet is in immediate danger of harm
• You contacted the police or 911 before or immediately after the break-in.
• They do not use more force than is absolutely necessary to remove the person or pet.
• You stay with the person or pet in a safe place near the vehicle until the police or a first responder arrives

Any police officer who finds that a child is being left unattended in such conditions may use “all reasonably necessary means” to protect the child.

Contributor: CA Bridges, USA TODAY Network-Florida