Across America, at least three young children have died after being left alone in hot cars over five days.
The youngest was just 11 months old when she was left alone in a car by her parents on Sunday as they attended church in Palm Bay, Florida.
A 1-year-old boy was also left in a vehicle at a hospital in Puyallup, Washington where his foster mother worked, and a 4-year-old boy was found in an unlocked car parked outside his Houston home.
The tragedies bring the total number of child deaths in hot cars to six — double from last year at the same time, according to Jan Null, a California meteorologist who tracks such fatalities.
Experts say the situation is only expected to worsen this summer with above-average temperatures.
Across America, at least three young children have died in recent days after being left alone in hot cars
The tragedies bring the total number of child deaths in hot cars to six – a doubling from the same time last year
Police in Puyallup, Washington, just southeast of Tacoma, said they are investigating the death of a 1-year-old who was left in a vehicle parked outside MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, where the child’s foster mother worked.
The woman discovered the child at about 5 p.m. on May 24 after about nine hours, police captain Don Bourbon said.
She immediately took the child to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead.
Authorities have suggested the woman made a tragic mistake, saying the foster mother was so distracted that morning that she forgot the child was with her when the temperature reached 77 degrees.
“It’s devastating, not just for the family, but for everyone involved in the death of a child,” Bourbon said. KING 5 News.
A few days later in Houston, Texas, a 4-year-old boy was found in an unlocked parked car with a 2-year-old girl in front of his home.
Police said the children were playing outside and at one point got into the car.
It’s unclear how long the children were in the vehicle when the temperature reached 88 degrees, but at some point, the family members went looking for the children.
They found the boy unconscious in the car around 4:30 p.m. Friday and rushed both children to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The 2-year-old girl was expected to survive.
Authorities in Houston, Texas say a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl were found Friday night in an unlocked car parked outside their home
It’s unclear how the kids got into the car, or how long they were inside as the temperature rose to 88 degrees
On Sunday, an 11-month-old was found lifeless outside Olives Evangelical Baptist Church in Palm Bay, a town on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Police say the baby had spent three hours unattended in the car while her parents attended church services. High temperatures in the area were around the mid 80’s.
The child was then rushed to Palm Bay Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“This is an unfortunate incident,” Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Augello said in a statement, “and our condolences and prayers go out to the family.
It is unclear whether the parents of the Houston or Palm Bay incidents will be charged.
A 1-year-old in Puyallup, Washington, was left in a vehicle parked outside MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, where his foster mother worked
In Palm Bay, Florida, an 11-month-old girl died after being left in the car while her parents went to church
The fatalities this year have boosted hot car deaths after numbers fell during the pandemic when more and more parents were able to work from home.
In 2020, only 25 children died in hot cars, and in 2021 that number will drop to 23, according to data from the US Department of Transportation. Both numbers are less than half those of 2019, when 53 children died in hot cars.
Last year, NBC news reports, 33 deaths were reported.
Still, hot car deaths from heatstroke are the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths for children under 14, according to the federal transportation department.
Officials say rapidly rising temperatures could trigger heat stroke in children left in cars, where temperatures can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes.
Children’s core temperature also rises three to five times faster than adults, and heat stroke can occur when a body temperature reaches 104 degrees. Death can occur at 107 degrees.
Meteorologists are now warning that the situation can only get worse as summer approaches.
The Kids and Car Safety organization considers the period from the end of May to the end of summer to be “hot car death season,” saying the transition to a new season could bring new routines that distract parents.
“A change in normal daily routine and fatigue are the most common factors contributing to a child being left unconscious in a vehicle,” the organization said in a statement Tuesday.
And to make matters worse, the US Climate Prediction Center has warned that much of the country will experience warmer-than-average temperatures through late August, especially in the Pacific Northwest, Texas and Florida.
Experts say the best way to avoid leaving a child in the car is to develop routines that always keep children in mind, whether they are at school or abroad.
Null specifically recommends placing a teddy bear in the front passenger seat if children are present.
Others say drivers should keep items such as briefcases or packed lunches in the back seat of their car so they always have to look back there.