This incident is the sixth hot car death this year of which four deaths have occurred in the month of May, according to Kids and Car Safety.
In yet another tragic story of a baby dying in a hot car, an 11-month-old girl in Florida was left in her parent's vehicle for hours as they attended church. Police in Palm Bay responded to an emergency call on Sunday, May 28, around 1 p.m. to a report of an unresponsive infant in a vehicle. "When they arrived, they learned the infant had been left in a car for approximately three hours while the parents went to the church service," the Palm Bay Police Department said in a statement per Good Morning America. The baby was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Baby dies in hot car as parents attend church in Florida: police https://t.co/QyxyZaAwvU
— WGN Morning News (@WGNMorningNews) May 31, 2023
No arrests have been made in regards to the case at this time and the investigation is ongoing, police said. "This is an unfortunate incident, and our condolences and prayers go out to the family," Palm Bay Police Chief, Mario Augello, said in a statement.
This incident is the sixth hot car death this year, according to KidsandCars.org, a nonprofit that provides information on hot car deaths, reports CBS News. In May alone four deaths occurred. 38 children on average under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a car, according to the National Safety Council. Almost every state has experienced at least one death since 1998. In both 2018 and 2019, a record number of 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle. A child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For a child, even minutes in a hot car can have deadly consequences.
— nhtsagov (@NHTSAgov) May 30, 2023
❌ Never leave a child in a car alone.
👁️ Always check the back seat.
🔒 Lock unattended vehicle doors and keep keys out of reach.#HeatstrokeKills #CheckForBaby pic.twitter.com/8Po6xl5kNk
Most people don’t think it could happen to them, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids and Car Safety per Florida Today. “It can happen that quickly, to a good person or a bad person, there are too many examples to count,” Fennell said. “That’s our biggest challenge, that it can absolutely happen to anyone.”
A 1-year-old baby was found dead after being left in a parked car outside a hospital in Puyallup, Washington, and a separate incident, a baby girl died after her parents left her in their car for hours while they attended a church service in Florida. https://t.co/3OLkQWDB5B
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 31, 2023
An important tip for parents is to place visual objects in the front seat reminding them a young child is in the back seat. Some suggestions include putting the diaper bag in the front seat. Parents can also keep a stuffed animal in the back seat and every time they put their child in the back, they can bring the stuffed animal to the front. Try and make it a habit to check your entire vehicle every time you lock and leave your vehicle— especially the back seat. If you ever see a child alone in a locked car, always call 911 immediately.
References:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/11-month-girl-dies-after-left-car-3-99699492
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/children-left-in-hot-car-heatstroke-deaths-puyallup-palm-bay/
Cover Image Source: Pixabay | Photo By Cornell Frühauf
