EXPERTS are warning drivers about a parking error that could have fatal and financial consequences.
Public health and safety officials are warning parents to be extra vigilant this summer, as car deaths for children are already on the rise.
Drivers risk going to jail or being fined if they break a certain law (stock photo)[/caption]
Cars tend to heat up within 10 minutes (stock photo)[/caption]
The National Safety Council reported that six children have already died in 2025 from heat stroke due to parents leaving them unattended in a hot car.
In 2024, 39 children died from heat stroke after sitting in a hot car for too long.
The yearly average for children under the age of 15 dying from heat stroke is 37, with every state experiencing at least one death since 1998.
A record number of hot car deaths occurred in 2018 and 2019, when 53 children died after caretakers left them in a hot vehicle.
Heat stroke tends to start when the body reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and children’s bodies heat up about three to five times faster than an adult’s, the New York State Department of Health reported.
Children are at risk of death when their bodies reach 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
As summer intensifies and temperatures rise, experts are warning parents to stay vigilant to avoid such a tragic outcome.
Health officials are reminding parents that vehicles can heat up quickly, even when the windows are open or the air conditioning is on.
In states such as Missouri, leaving a child unattended in a vehicle is considered a class C felony, which could result in thousands of dollars in fines or jail time.
“One minute can end up being fifteen. We don’t know how fast your car will heat up.
“We know that a vehicle typically heats up in 10 minutes, but that’s not a fail safe number,” a spokesperson for the National Safety Council told ABC affiliate KTVX.
One of the biggest reasons for children dying in a hot vehicle is parents forgetting that their child is in the backseat.
“I think most parents sometimes find themselves in the situation where they need to run somewhere really quick and leave the child in the car,” Florida parent Michelle McKoy told CBS affiliate WFOR.
“So I think always it’s really important always to be vigilant and know that’s not the right thing to do.”
In Miami, a mother was arrested on May 13 when police claimed she left her two-and-a-half-year-old son and 22-month-old daughter inside a car while she ran to the store.
Police said that the car was turned off but the windows were rolled down about four inches.
The children were seen sweating in the backseat and the mother was arrested for child neglect.
Tips to avoid leaving your child unattended
According to the New York Stat Health Department, you should:
- Always check the back seat before you leave your vehicle.
- Put your purse, backpack, coat, or briefcase in the back seat.
- Put a toy or stuffed animal in your front seat when a child is in the back.
- Use a sticky note on the dashboard as a reminder to check the back seat.
- Set an alarm on your cell phone or have a procedure to be contacted if your child doesn’t show up as expected.
- Look for a car with a rear seat reminder safety feature that alerts the driver to check the back seat.
Earlier this week a dad was arrested after his 18-month-old died in a hot truck when the child was left alone while he allegedly drank in a bar and got a haircut.
One of the best ways to prevent accidentally leaving your child is to set a reminder on your car that a person is in the backseat or to leave an important item in the back.
“Putting your purse, your phone, your tablet, your lunch in the backseat to make sure that you look in the backseat before you lock the door,” Alex Camacho, a Florida Highway Patrol public affairs spokesperson, told WFOR.
If forgetting a child in the backseat continues to be a problem, drivers should write a reminder on a sticky note to check the backseat before leaving.
Parents should teach their children that the vehicle isn’t a play area, and they should keep the keys out of reach of children.
