Heat Claims the Lives of at Least 33 Children Left in Cars
5 June 2000
National SAFE KIDS Campaign and Meteorologists Advise Extreme Caution During Potentially Record-Setting High Temperatures This Summer
WASHINGTON - At least 30 children died last summer, one child every four
days on average, after being trapped in an automobile parked in the searing
heat. The majority of the fatalities occurred in June and July. Thanks to
help from the media following a SAFE KIDS news conference last August, the
rate of these fatalities dramatically declined. Shockingly, there have already
been three known heat-related child fatalities within the last two weeks.
This is a tragic start to a summer that the National Weather Service predicts
will be warmer than usual across most of the country. In response, the National
SAFE KIDS Campaign is partnering with the American Meteorological Society
to issue an urgent warning to parents and caregivers to take extra precautions
with children in and around vehicles during the upcoming warm summer days.
"These tragedies sharply illustrate that adults don't understand how
severely and quickly heat affects children," said Heather Paul, Ph.D.,
executive director of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. "All adults must
understand that any unlocked car can become a deadly playground for small
children."
According to data reported by the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety,
at least 30 children died last year from heat stroke when they became trapped
or were left in parked cars. On July 27, 1999 in North Carolina, a 3-year-old
climbed into a hot empty car, buckled himself into his car seat and died in
the extreme heat. Each of his parents mistakenly thought the boy was being
cared for by the other parent. In Atlanta, two young brothers, both under age
three, died in July after wandering out of their backyard and into an unlocked
car parked outside the family home. Temperatures that afternoon had reached
about 90 degrees.
Three known deaths have already occurred within the last two weeks in
Phoenix, Hampton, VA and in Sussex County, New Jersey where a child was left
in a car seat for more than two hours. The temperature outside was 63
degrees.
According to a recent survey by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 10
percent of parents report that it's acceptable for young children to be left
in a car unattended. Among parents between the ages of 18 and 24, twice as
many contend that it's okay to leave a child alone in a vehicle. When the
outside temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit, even with a window cracked, the
temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit in just 20 minutes
and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes. In these extreme conditions,
children can die or suffer permanent disability quickly - in a matter of
minutes.
"Extreme heat affects infants and small children disproportionately," said
Martin Eichelberger, M.D., director of trauma surgery at Children's National
Medical Center and president of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. "Heat
rapidly overwhelms the body's ability to regulate temperature. In a closed
environment, the body can go into shock and circulation to vital organs will
begin to fail."
The SAFE KIDS survey also found that only 50 percent of parents always
lock their cars at home and one out of five parents rarely or never does so.
More than a third of the deaths reported last year occurred when children
crawled into unlocked cars while playing and perished in the sweltering heat.
Unlocked cars pose serious risks to children who are naturally curious and
often lack fear. Once they crawl in, they don't have the developmental
capability to get out. In several cases, a parent or caregiver intentionally
left the child in a car while in other cases, the child was mistakenly
forgotten.
The National SAFE KIDS Campaign has partnered with the American
Meteorological Society and its 850 broadcast meteorologists to help spread
awareness about the dangers of leaving kids in cars, especially during warm
temperatures. During upcoming weather forecasts, broadcast meteorologists
around the country will remind parents and caregivers how to keep their kids
safe this summer.
The National SAFE KIDS Campaign warns parents to be especially vigilant
about their children's safety on days when temperatures are 80 degrees or
higher by offering the following safety precautions to combat heat-related
injuries in cars:
* Keep cars locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway.
* Teach children not to play in or around cars.
* Never leave your child in an unattended car, even with the windows down.
* Always make sure that all child passengers have left the car.
* If your child gets locked inside a car, get him out and dial 9-1-1 or
your local emergency number immediately.
* Make sure you check the temperature of the car seat surface and safety
belt buckles before restraining your children in the car.
* Use a light covering to shade the seat of your parked car. Consider
using windshield shades in front and back windows.
Car trunks can be especially hazardous. Kids get in but can't always get
out. In very hot weather, heat stroke may result and could lead to permanent
disability or even death in a matter of minutes.
* Keep the trunk of your car locked at all times, especially when parked
in the driveway or near the home.
* Keep the rear fold-down seats closed to help prevent kids from getting
into the trunk from inside the car.
* Put car keys out of children's reach and sight.
* Be wary of child-resistant locks. Teach older children how to disable
the driver's door locks if they unintentionally become entrapped in a
motor vehicle.
* Contact your automobile dealership about getting your vehicle
retrofitted with a trunk release mechanism.
For more information, write to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 1301
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004 or visit the
Campaign's website at http://www.safekids.org
The survey was conducted by Bruskin Goldring Research. The sample size of
this national survey was 700 families with children under 18. There is a
sample reliability of + or - 3.5% at a 95% level of confidence.
The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national
organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood
injury - the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. More than 280
State and Local SAFE KIDS Coalitions in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico comprise the Campaign.
The American Meteorological Society currently promotes the development and
dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related
oceanic and hydrologic sciences. Founded in 1919, AMS now has a membership of
more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts.
AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals,
sponsors more than 12 conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and
services.
2000 Heat-related Fatalities
Children Age 4 and Under
Child's Name Age Date City/State Circumstance
Martin Medina 4 years May 24 Phoenix, AZ Playing
Jack Hayes 13 mos. May 24 Newton, NJ Sleeping
Benjamin Shelton 9 mos. May 25 York Co., VA Unattended
instead of daycare
1999 Heat-related Fatalities
Children Age 4 and Under
Child's Name Age Date
City/State Circumstance
Damon Adams 4 years March 17 Cincinatti, OH Unattended while
uncle worked
Justin Miller 2 years June 5 Fairfield, OH Playing
Jory Johnson 3 years June 5 Rockford, IL Playing
Nnamdi Chidomere 1 year June 6 Houston, TX Unattended after
baptism
Dallas Johnson 2 years June 7 Rockford, IL Playing
Stacey
Stinger 2 1/2 years June 7 Gaithersburg, MD Caregiver
housecleaning
Cailan Cutillo 5 mos. June 14 Claremont, CA Unattended,
parents asleep
in hotel
Krystal
Domingues 15 mos. June 28 Temecula, CA Unattended,
mom had been
drinking
Melanie
Auriene 2 years July 4 Lombard, IL Unattended,
sleeping
Cody Britt 2 years July 4 Masontown, PA Playing with
siblings
Arnold
Guzman 21/2 years July 5 Omaha, NE Playing with
brother
Jermaine
Christmas 18 mos. July 7 Sarasota, FL Unattended,
grandparents at
church
Leslie
Ramirez 2 years July 13 Apoka, FL Playing
Brian Puckett 11 mos. July 13 Lexington, KY Unattended, baby
sitter shopping
Thorance Fungwe 5 mos. July 14 Detroit, MI Unattended
instead of daycare
Alec Benavides 3 years July 18 Parkville, MD Playing
Scott Hearn 2 1/2 years July 20 Atlanta, GA Playing
Trayce Hearn 1 1/2 years July 20 Atlanta, GA
Playing
Darnecia Slater 22 mos. July 21 Memphis, TN Unattended in
daycare van
Brandon Mann 2 years July 21 Memphis, TN Unattended in
daycare van
Tykeill Stacker 2 years July 25 Greensboro, NC Unattended
outside church
George Barber 3 years July 25 Laurinburg, NC Playing
Daniel Ellison 7 mos. July 29 Clovis, NM Unattended
instead of daycare
Luis
Fernando
Pineda
Valdovins 2 1/2 years August 1 San Jose, CA Playing
Senan Arteaga 8 mos. August 1 Houston, TX Unattended,
left in car seat
Unkown 2 years August Fayette County, WA Playing
Samuel Jackson 7 weeks August 15 Tulsa, OK Unattended while
mother shopped
Miah
Chevendychenko
-viaz 1 1/2 years August 24 McAllen, TX Unattended
Amaya Banks 10 mos. September 8 Baton Rouge, LA Unattended,
sitter at Dr. appt.
Jacie Sellers 15 mos. September 23 Hattiesburg, MS Unattended,
instead of daycare