Vehicular Heatstroke

The Dangers of Leaving Children in Hot Cars

If it’s something we don’t do every day, our brains face the challenge of struggling to remember to do it. It’s normal. We all deal with this challenge, which becomes even greater if we’re distracted or stressed.

Aubrey’s Story

When Jessa got home she was tired to the bone. It had been a long and hard week, and at last, it was Friday! The nanny had bathed and fed nine-month-old Aubrey, and Jessa was thoroughly looking forward to relaxing with a glass of wine in a hot bath after she put Aubrey to bed. But then her husband called and asked if she minded if he brought home an important client, who was unexpectedly in town, for dinner. That meant a trip to the grocery store and a stressful time crunch because now she had to dress up and prepare an impressive dinner that didn’t include the leftover meatloaf she had planned.

“Celia, can you stay with Aubrey just a few minutes longer while I run to the store?”

“Sorry, ma’am. I have to leave right now. My husband needs the car to get to work tonight. His broke down,” the nanny replied.

Jessa would have to load up Aubrey and take her to the store with her. She quickly buckled Aubrey into her rear-facing car seat and pulled the car-seat hood down because the hot July sun pounded right through the window next to Aubrey’s car seat.

She had dashed out of the house fast, having no time to make a complete menu or a list of the things she needed. She spent the 10-minute drive to the supermarket stressfully rehearsing her shopping list and trying to decide what to wear and how to pull all this together in less than two hours.

As she parked the car, her stress mounted as she dashed into the grocery store, feeling completely unorganized for this last-minute, important dinner.

“Jessa! What a surprise!” It was Jessa’s friend Rose.

“God, Rose, Larry just called and he’s bringing over that client he’s been courting. I’m a nervous wreck. I don’t know what to prepare or how I’m going to do it by 7:30!”

“Here. Come with me.” Rose linked their arms with Jessa and whisked her out of the grocery store to Rose’s car.

“I worked for a catering business all through college, remember?” Rose said as she backed out of the parking space. “First thing, we call Henri’s Deli. I know the owner,” she said as she punched in numbers on her cell phone. “We have him prepare the entire meal. While he’s doing that, we hop over to Wine-a-Bit right next door and pick out a stellar cabernet!”

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver! I never thought of cheating like that!”

“Girl, this is not cheating! It’s creative problem-solving! The client will never know the difference, you’ll bag a fat account for Larry, and you’ll have over an hour to primp!”

Forty-five minutes later, Rose was backing out of the parking space right next to Jessa and saying goodbye to her friend as Jessa unlocked the trunk of her car and placed the dinner boxes inside.

Just as Rose put her car in drive, Jessa opened her car door, shrieked, and yanked open the back driver’s side door. Rose threw her car into park, jumped out, and ran toward Jessa, who was wailing and frantically pulling something from the back seat. It was Aubrey.

It took little Aubrey less than an hour to die from vehicular heatstroke in a car that had reached 123 degrees.

A criminal investigation followed because Jessa had a blood alcohol level that was under the limit but nonetheless indicative of negligence. At Wine-a-Bit, she had drunk a glass of wine with Rose while they waited for the deli to prepare the dinner.

The police referred the family to us to clean the impounded car after the investigation.

How Common a Problem Is Leaving Children in Hot Cars?

In 2020, 24 children died of vehicular heatstroke.
In 2018 and 2019, we saw a record number of hot car deaths — 53 children died each year — the most in at least 20 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.
Over the last 17 years, an average of 38 children has died every year because they were left in cars that quickly reached temperatures exceeding 140 degrees F.

Of the hundreds of children who have died of vehicular heatstroke in hot cars, 70% were forgotten by a care giver or intentionally left by a parent. Twenty-nine percent were playing in an unattended vehicle.

These statistics suggest that 99 percent of vehicular heatstroke deaths could have been prevented. That’s an unconscionable number of completely unnecessary deaths of the most vulnerable and dependent among us: our children.

Did you know . . . ?

More than 70% of vehicular heatstroke victims are children under age two.
The body temperature of children increases 3 to 5 times faster than that of adults.
Heatstroke begins when the body’s core temperature exceeds 104 degrees. At 107 degrees, organs start to shut down and the body begins to die.
The vehicle’s temperature begins to rise within 5 minutes of shutting off the ignition.
80% of the vehicle’s temperature rise occurs in the first 30 minutes.
Temperatures rise at a rate of 6.25 degrees every five minutes for the first 30 minutes.
In 10 minutes, the temperature in a car rises about 20 degrees.
In 20 minutes, the temperature in a car rises about 30 degrees.
In an hour, the car’s temperature rises about 50 degrees. That means if it is 85 degrees outside, the car’s interior temperature is 135 degrees in only 60 minutes.
A car can reach 110 degrees when the outside temperature is only in the 60s.
Parking in the shade or cracking a window makes almost no difference in keeping the car’s interior temperature lower.

Jessa was by all accounts a loving, devoted mother. Under stress and out of her normal routine of grocery shopping alone, she forgot her child was in the car.

According to Dr. David Diamond, a professor of molecular physiology at the University of South Florida who studies memory, “If you’re capable of forgetting your cell phone, you are potentially capable of forgetting your child” (source: The Washington Post – Fatal Distraction: Child Heatstroke).

Jessa’s lapse killed her child and destroyed her life. Here are some things that you can do to prevent a similar tragedy:

What you can do to prevent accidentally leaving a child in a car:

Always place your purse, briefcase, or wallet in the back seat next to your child’s car seat whether or not your child is with you. That will force you to look at the back seat and at your child’s car seat every time to exit the car.
Place one of your shoes in the back seat next to your child’s car seat. You won’t park and leave your car with just one shoe on.
Place car seat for your younger or quieter child behind the front passenger side, not behind the driver’s side, of the car. The child is more likely to catch your attention if he or she is behind the front passenger seat.
“Look before you leave”: make it your routine to look at the back seat every time you park your car, whether or not you have anyone in the care with you.

What you can do to prevent children from getting trapped in an unattended car:

Lock your car whenever park it, even when it is parked in your garage or driveway.
Never leave your car keys where children can find or reach them.

What you should do if you see a child left in an unattended car:

Call 911 immediately.
Remove the child. Do not break out the window next to the child but a window as far away from the child as possible.
Cool the child by removing excess clothing, applying cool (not cold) water with towels or rags, offering cool (not cold) water to drink if the child is responsive.
Fan the child and mist the child with cool water.
Administer CPR if necessary.

We are Advanced Bio Treatment. We are here for you 24 hours every day of the year. Should you need our services, please call us at 800-295-1684.