30 Hot Days, 30 Lost Children: How to Save a Baby's Life

Written by Feroze Dhanoa and DEB BELT (Patch Staff)

As temperatures begin to rise, there is also the predictable storyline looming this time of year of parents leaving children unattended in hot cars.

And in some cases, the storyline has tragic consequences.

Particularly in cases where a parent forgets their baby in the back seat and the baby dies from hyperthermia, known more jarringly as heatstroke.

Last year, that happened 30 times to 30 babies nationwide.

It may not be summer yet but temperatures in Connecticut have already hit 80 degrees this week including Tuesday, and high 70s are forecast for the rest of the week.

Aside from the lost child, the cases often destroy parents and families while perplexing judicial systems that struggle with how to hold accountable adults whose guilt already cages them.

Last year, in Connecticut alone, incidents of children being left in hot cars began being reported in July. In as many as eight separate incidents, children were knowingly left in hot cars for periods spanning 10-45 minutes.

In one fatal case, a 15-month-old baby in Ridgefield died from hyperthermia after being left in a car for an entire work day last July. The father in the case, Kyle Seitz, 38, accidentally left his child in the back seat believing he had dropped him off at daycare before he went to work.

Related:

• Groton Man Accused of Leaving Baby Inside A 130-Degree Hot Car
• 18-Month-Old Found Alone in Car in YMCA Parking Lot
• One Day, Three Incidents of Children Left in Hot Cars in CT [UPDATE]
• North Haven Police Arrest Another Parent For Leaving Unattended Child in Car in Target Parking Lot
• Woman Shops While Children Sit in Hot Car, West Hartford Police Say
• Child Left in 103-Degree Car in Groton: Police
• Middletown Man Leaves Kids in Running Truck for 30 Minutes, Police Say
• Woman Shops While Toddler and Infant Remain In a Hot Parked Car in North Haven

In the incidents where the children were purposefully left in the back seats, parents left the windows open while they shopped or ran errands. However, leaving the windows open on a hot summer day does little to prevent tragedies.

Kids and Cars notes, “Even with the windows partially down, the temperature inside a parked car can reach 125 degrees in just minutes. Leaving the windows opened slightly does not significantly slow the heating process or decrease the maximum temperature attained.”

A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s.

But police and prosecutors nationwide wrestle with what to do with parents as the number of such deaths — where there are no obvious signs of neglect involved — begin to rise with the temperatures.

For every case of a parent who is impaired with a child in the car or who leaves a baby in a vehicle with the window open just a bit, there are executive dads and busy moms who simply forget that their child is in the back seat during a hectic day.

Common factors in the cases are stress, parents functioning on too little sleep or a change in daily routine, say experts. And it falls to the prosecutor in each locale to decide if a soul-destroying mistake is also a crime.

Seitz, charged with criminally negligent homicide in the death of his 15-month-old son received leniency from a judge last month and will avoid jail time for forgetting his toddler was in his car. At his sentencing, his wife, Lindsay Rogers-Seitz asked for leniency for her husband so the family could heal. The judge agreed saying the family had endured a sufficient level of suffering.

In 2014, the national tally for child heatstroke deaths from being left in cars was 30, down from a total of 44 in 2013, according to the Kids and Cars website, which works to prevent accidental child deaths.

Read Also:

• How Hot Does it Get in a Parked Car?
• Father Charged With Murder Researched Child Car Deaths

Patch has compiled these hot car safety tips for parents from KidsandCars.org and Parents.com. Review the list and keep a printout in your vehicle as a reminder and checklist.

• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
• Put your purse, briefcase, cell phone or lunch in the backseat so you are sure to look before you lock the door.
• Make it a habit to always open the back door of your vehicle every time you park to make sure no child has been left behind.
• Keep a large stuffed animal in the child’s car seat when it’s empty; move the toy to the front seat when a child is riding in the car seat as a visual reminder that a child is on board.
• Place your child’s car seat in the middle of the backseat rather than behind the driver. It’s easier to see the child.
• Arrange with your daycare center or babysitter that you will always call if your child will not be there as scheduled.
• Lock your vehicles at all times — even in the garage or driveway – so youngsters can’t climb in without your knowledge.
• Keep keys and remote openers out of the reach of children.
• Check vehicles and car trunks first when a child is missing.
• Take action if you see a child alone in a vehicle. Call 911 immediately.
• Discuss the issue of hot-car safety with everyone who drives your child, including partners, grandparents, and babysitters.
• Use drive-through services when available at restaurants, banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc. to remain in the vehicle with your child.
• Use your debit or credit card to pay for gas at the pump.

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