A 9-month-old baby was pronounced dead after being left behind in a car by a grandparent on Wednesday in Texas, according to reports.
The baby was left in a car seat around 8:30 a.m. and the grandmother allegedly returned to the vehicle around 4 p.m. to find the child unresponsive.
Reports indicate that the grandmother called police once she found the child.
Reports indicate that the incident is being investigated as criminal homicide, but no charges have been filed yet.
This is the third child hot car death in Texas for 2024. Just two days prior to this infant’s death, a 22-month-old died after being left inside a hot car outside of a Texas middle school. Reports indicate that the child’s mother forgot to drop her child at daycare before proceeding to work. The child was found hours later and pronounced dead. The mother was arrested on charges of child abandonment and injury to a child.
These two latest child hot car deaths have brought the total number of deaths to 27 since June of 2024, according to Kids and Car Safety.
According to data provided by Kids and Car Safety, since 1990, at least 1,109 children have died after being left inside hot cars in the United States, and at least 7,500 more have survived with varied degrees of harm.
How Many Children Have Died in Florida As a Result of Vehicle-Related Heatstroke?
In Florida, there have been 118 child hot car deaths between 1990 and 2023.
Texas leads the nation with 155 deaths from 1990-2023.
The following states had the most child hot car deaths from 1990-2023:
- Texas: 155 deaths
- Florida: 118 deaths
- California: 65 deaths
- Arizona: 47 deaths
- North Carolina, Georgia: 45 deaths for each state
- Louisiana: 44
- Virginia, Tennessee: 38 deaths for each state
- Alabama: 36
How Hot Can the Inside of a Car Get?
Although summertime is when most of these disasters happen, deaths have been reported in every month of the year.
Even in mild weather, research has shown that cars may get dangerously hot very rapidly. According to the National Safety Council, a vehicle’s interior temperature can rise to 117 degrees in 60 minutes from an outside ambient air temperature of 72 degrees, with the first 30 minutes accounting for 80% of the temperature increase.
In general, for ambient temperatures ranging from 72 to 96 degrees, a 40-degree increase in inside vehicle temperatures is expected after 60 minutes.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, young children are more vulnerable to the dangers of high temperatures because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than those of adults.
When a child’s core temperature hits approximately 104 degrees, heatstroke may occur. According to the US Department of Transportation, children can die if their internal body temperature reaches 107 degrees.
Safety Tips for Preventing Child Hot Car Deaths
Most child hot car deaths happen because a parent or caregiver forgets them inside the vehicle or because the child unknowingly gained access to a car and could not get out. The following safety tips could save a child’s life:
- Never leave children alone in a vehicle, not even for a minute or two.
- Make sure you always check the backseat. As a reminder, leave your wallet or purse in the back seat so that you must look in the back seat before exiting your vehicle.
- If your child does not arrive as scheduled, ask your daycare provider or preschool to give you a call.
- Make sure kids know that a car is not a play area. Keep keys out of reach and cars always locked.
- If you come across a child left alone in a vehicle, call 911.
Our Florida Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton Can Help
Our Florida Injury and Wrongful Death Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can assist you in understanding your legal options if you or a loved one lost a child due to negligence, like leaving a child trapped inside a hot car. For a completely free consultation, give us a call at 866-608-5529 or contact us online 24/7.