Mother Reflects on Her Son's Hot Car Death

By Feroze Dhanoa and Deb Belt

It has been one year since the passing of Benjamin Jacob Seitz.

Benjamin was 15-months-old at the time was accidentally left in a car by his father, Kyle Seitz, 37, on July 7, 2014.

The father, formerly of Ridgefield, had planned to drop his son at daycare before he went to work. He realized that he had forgotten to make the stop only when he left work, drove to the daycare and was told he had never arrived with the boy.

The father discovered the son in the backseat of his car. Benjamin died of hyperthermia.

For the one-year anniversary of Ben’s passing, his mother Lindsay Rogers-Seitz wrote a heartwarming post on her blog, “The Gift of Ben.”

“I checked my blog email today and am so very overwhelmed with joy. You have no idea how much those amazing words mean to me today, from nearby in Connecticut to places across the nation. I needed to read those messages so very much today, as my heart aches in many ways,” Lindsay Rogers-Seitz wrote in an entry July 6.

Rogers-Seitz wrote the blog entry on July 6, one day before the one-year anniversary of her son’s passing.

But it’s not just Ben’s story.

So far in 2015, there have been eight vehicular heat stroke deaths, according to the latest statistics from Kids and Cars.

In 2014, that number was 32. In Connecticut alone, there were eight separate incidents, where children were knowingly left in hot cars for periods spanning 10-45 minutes with one fatal case.

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 during his sentencing in April 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.

On the anniversary of Ben’s passing, his mother asked for one thing. To share the love. To share the profound and deep love that Ben taught her with someone who needs you or touches your heart.

Read Rogers-Seitz full blog post here.

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.

Image via Gift of Ben Blog