The school year is over across most of metro Atlanta, and that shake-up to parents’ daily routines can create the potential for a fatal mistake.
It’s easier than you think to forget a child in the back seat of a hot car.
On average, 37 children die in hot cars each year nationwide, according to the National Safety Council, a nonprofit that tracks such fatalities. Last year, there were 39 deaths, including two in Georgia. Already this year, three kids have died, all in other states. Most of the victims are younger than school-age, and the majority of deaths occur during the hottest months from spring through late fall.
“No one believes this is going to happen to them,” said Amber Rollins, director of the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety. “We love our children. Why would you think that you would forget them? It just doesn’t make sense in the mind of a loving parent ... But the right circumstances have to align.”
So what are those circumstances?
Rollins said data shows that when parents accidentally forget their child in a car, they’ve often changed their daily routine. That can happen when older children are out of school, disrupting child care duties for younger siblings. And it happens when parents are tired, potentially due to that change, and they can’t easily see or hear their baby because the child is asleep in a rear-facing car seat.
That combination of factors can lead to the same kind of memory lapse that happens when you drive home on autopilot instead of heading, as planned, to the grocery store. But the consequences are far more dire when there’s a child left behind.
“I do believe it’s almost happened to every single parent out there, but something triggered them to remember that the child was back there,” Rollins said.
Those lifesaving reminders can be as simple as a cooing or crying baby, or a diaper bag or toy in the passenger seat. Such memory triggers can help prevent a fatal mistake.
Experts recommend moving a stuffed animal to the front seat after buckling up your little one. Or, place an item that you need daily, such as an employee badge, in the back seat so you’re forced to look back there after you park.
Quickly rising temperatures
The majority of hot car deaths occur between April and November, but it doesn’t have to be scorching hot for a vehicle to turn into an oven. In January 2016, for example, a 1-year-old Georgia boy died of hyperthermia when he was left inside a car in 52-degree weather.
Even when it’s a comfortable 73 degrees outside, temperatures inside a vehicle can climb to 90 in just 10 minutes and to 100 degrees in 25 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.
Cracking a window open does not significantly slow the heating process or lower the maximum temp.
On a 90-degree day, of which Atlanta sees plenty, vehicle temps could reach 100 degrees in just five minutes and exceed 120 degrees in 25 minutes, the Weather Service warns.
Heatstroke sets in when your body temperature exceeds 103 degrees, and a child heats up much faster than an adult, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Once the core body temp exceeds that mark, there’s a risk of damage to the brain, kidneys and muscles, and even the possibility of death.
Possible criminal charges
In some fatal hot car cases, parents or guardians have been charged with murder if officials determine the circumstances rise to the level of criminal negligence.
One of the more notorious cases in recent years unfolded in Cobb County. Justin Ross Harris was accused of leaving his son, Cooper, in his rear-facing car seat in the back of an SUV on June 18, 2014.
The case went to trial in 2016, and a jury found him guilty of murder. Harris was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2022. The following year, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office said they wouldn’t retry him. He was released from prison last year after serving time for an unrelated conviction.
More recently, Ariel Osbey, 29, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty after she allegedly left her 14-month-old daughter Imani in a car alone for hours in October 2023. That case is still pending in Newton County Superior Court.
Not all hot car deaths result in criminal charges, though. Last July, Cobb police said they would not file charges in the case of a 2-year-old boy who died inside a vehicle near Marietta. At the time, officials said there was no evidence to suggest someone had left the boy in the car, though they did not say if he got into the vehicle on his own.
About a quarter of hot car deaths are caused by children accessing a vehicle on their own, according to Kids and Car Safety data.
Tips to keep children safe around cars
» Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat when the vehicle is not occupied. Once the child is buckled in, parents or guardians should place the toy in the front seat next to them.
» Leave a note up front and put a purse or briefcase in the back seat as another reminder to look before locking the car.
» Make a habit of ensuring no one is inside after getting out of the vehicle. If a child is missing, check vehicles, car trunks and floorboards immediately.
» Use drive-thru services when available and pay for gas at the pump.
» When not using the car, always lock it so no children can try to get inside.
» Teach children to honk the horn or turn on hazard lights if they become stuck inside a car.
» Never leave car keys within reach of children.
» Use childproofing knob covers and door alarms to prevent children from leaving your home unnoticed.
» If you see a child or pet alone in a locked car, immediately call 911. If the child or animal seems hot or sick, get them out as quickly as possible.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Kids and Car Safety.
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