You’re out for a walk on a hot Wisconsin summer day. You spot a child in the backseat of a parked car, and the owner is nowhere to be found. What can you legally do?
Fortunately, Wisconsin’s Good Samaritan laws remove the guesswork. The law says anyone who renders care at the scene of an emergency is free from civil liability if something goes wrong, and it lays out exactly when a bystander can force their way into a vehicle to rescue a person or animal inside.
There are several rules to follow. For example, you need to have a “good faith belief” that the person or animal is in “imminent danger of suffering bodily harm” before you forcibly enter the vehicle.
Here’s what to know before smashing a window to free a person or animal.
Check to see if the doors are locked
Just because a person or animal is in trouble doesn’t mean you can immediately smash a window or otherwise force your way into a vehicle.
First, you need to make sure it’s locked and that there’s no other way to rescue them. Then – and only then – can you forcibly enter the vehicle, and you must enter with no more force than necessary.
Call authorities before forcing your way inside
Whether it’s an emergency dispatcher, law enforcement, emergency medical services or animal control, someone needs to know before you forcibly enter a vehicle for a rescue.
Not only does that contact offer civil protection, but it gives authorities the advance notice they need in case medical attention is necessary at the scene. If you break a window to rescue a person or animal, you are also expected to stay with them until help arrives.
Additionally, if the owner of the vehicle does not return to the scene in time, you are expected to leave a note with your information.
Wisconsin’s history of hot car deaths
From 1990 to 2025, Wisconsin has recorded a total of 12 child hot car deaths, according to a Kids and Car Safety report. But the state hasn’t had such a death in 12 years, with the last one recorded in 2013.
At least 1,172 children have died in hot cars in the United States since 1990, the report says. Texas has recorded the most of any state in that time with 173 deaths, followed by Florida with 123 deaths.
Lance Schulteis can be reached at LSchulteis@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: When you can legally smash a car window to save a life in Wisconsin
Reporting by Lance Schulteis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lance Schulteis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
