More than 700 kids have died in hot cars since 1998
Three children have died as a result of being left inside of a vehicle in the hot sun in just the past three weeks.
One of those children died after being left inside of a hot day care van all day long; the other two were toddlers in Texas who police say were intentionally left in a hot vehicle for 15 hours.
It’s becoming a concerning trend across America, as an average of 37 children die each year from being left in hot cars. Since 1998, 713 children have died in vehicular related heat strokes, with 18 occurring here in Missouri.
Just 19 states have enacted laws to combat this growing issue and here in Missouri, the current law states that you you can be charged if a child causes an accident and was left unattended.
Just last year, former Gov. Jay Nixon signed House Bill 1649 into law, which “establishes the Rescue the Forgotten law to provide immunity from civil liability for persons who render assistance to children trapped in motor vehicles.”
Doctors ABC 17 spoke to say that if you unknowingly leave your child in the vehicle there are steps you need to take to ensure they are okay, when you retrieve them.
“First thing you want to check for is just what is their overall status,” Mizzou Urgent Care Dr. Karli Urban said. “Are they crying? Are they active? Are they breathing? Some of those really basic things you just have to be able to look at immediately.”
While doctors say a disrupted routine can cause us to forget certain things, there are some things you can do as a parent to make sure that you remember to check the backseat.
– Keep something you need in the backseat. Whether it be a purse, a phone, or your shoes, let it be something that is part of your daily routine.
– Keep a stuffed animal in the passenger seat beside you to remind you that your child is in the car with you.
– Write sticky note and place it on the steering wheel.
– Set a reminder on your phone. Smartphones now have the capability to remind you when you leave a set geographic area.
– Make it a routine to look before you lock.
– Purchase a monitoring system, like baby alerts.
Since 1998, here are the number of deaths that have occurred in Missouri.
2000 – 2
2001 – 6
2006 -1
2007- 3
2010 – 2
2012 – 1
2015 – 1
2016 – 2
