Florida, with some of the highest temperatures in the country, has recorded more child hot car deaths than any other state except Texas, with 127 deaths since 1990.
This year, four kids in Florida have already died after being left in hot cars.
The most recent was on July 5, when 2-year-old Brittany Ramirez was left inside a minivan for three hours in Hallandale Beach by a babysitter before being discovered. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Just a week before that, a father was devastated in Plantation when he went to pick up his 23-month-old son after work only to discover he had forgotten to drop the boy off and he was left in the car all day.
The father discovered the boy dead in his car seat when he arrived at the day care center to pick him up around 5:30 p.m.
The parents took turns dropping their two children off at daycare, and had already advised the center the older child would not be there that day, so the caregivers didn’t call the parents when the almost 2-year-old boy didn’t show up.
Historically, July is the deadliest month for children left in cars. And with heat index forecasts in Naples hovering around 110 degrees this summer, advocates are urging parents to take steps to prevent hot car deaths, like making it a habit to check the backseat before locking the car.
Lt. Bryan McGinn, the Naples Police Department public information officer, urged the public and parents to remain vigilant, and call 911 immediately if there is a distressed child or pet in a hot car.
“When you get out of your car , just take a look around, even if it’s for a split second, and just double check to make sure there’s nothing in there,” he said.
He urged parents to get in the habit of checking the back seat and taking their kids out of the car every time they leave, even if it’s just a quick run inside a store.
“It’s that muscle memory,” he said. “It’s really worth it so that you never have anything to worry about.”
McGinn also urged bystanders to step in and alert the authorities if they see a child or pet in a hot car.
How hot can cars get inside?
Temperatures inside a car generally increase by just over three degrees every five minutes with the highest increases happening in the first 30 minutes, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The study also showed cracking a window does little to mitigate high temperatures inside a car.
On a 95-degree day, the interior temperature of a car can reach 138 degrees within an hour. When outside temperatures reach the triple digits, interior car temperatures can reach deadly levels within minutes.
Even on seemingly cooler days with highs in the 60s, the inside of cars can reach up to 110 degrees, which can be deadly.
When do temperatures become deadly?
A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s, making heat stroke a bigger threat to children.
When a child’s internal body temperature reaches 104 degrees, heat stroke sets in, with death occurring when the body reaches 107 degrees.
How do hot car deaths happen?
Most child deaths due to vehicular heat stroke are accidental with adults forgetting small children in the car.
Nationwide, almost 53% of all hot car deaths happened because parents didn’t see their children in the backseat before leaving the car, which happens most often after a change of routine when parents go into what experts call autopilot and forget their kids in the car.
Almost 24% of deaths happened after the kid got in the car on their own without a parent’s knowledge.
Only 22% of kids killed from vehicular heat stroke were purposely left in the car.
Tips to prevent hot car deaths
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a number of tips for parents on how to make sure their children are safe.
The NHTSA also issued tips for bystanders including always making sure cars are locked so neighborhood kids can’t get inside and urged them to call 911 immediately if they see a distressed child inside a hot car.
You can reach Naples Daily News reporter Alexa Ryan at Alexa.Ryan@naplesnews.com. Follow her on X @AlexaRyan_ or on Instagram @alexaryanreports.
Do you have an opinion about this topic? Send us a letter to the editor or guest column at mailbag@news-press.com or letters@naplesnews.com.
Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Take steps to prevent hot car deaths, police urge as temperatures surge
Reporting by Alexa Ryan, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexa Ryan, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
