Medford, Ore. – Eighteen… that’s the number of children who have already died this year across the U.S. after being left in hot cars.
“Look before you lock, and always make sure you’re checking that back seat,” KidsAndCars.Org Director, Amber Rollins said.
Oregon’s numbers are low ranking 41-st in the nation for hot car deaths, but Thursday marked the fourth since 2000. The story caught the attention of Kansasbased organization, KidsAndCars.Org.
They say, it could happen to any parent.
“For those people who are out there who believe this can’t happen to them, one thing I can tell you from personal experience. I’ve worked with these families for that this has happened to for 12 years, and not one of them believed it could happen to them,” she said.
Kids and Cars says the inside of a car is like a greenhouse, and in the first ten minutes a car’s temperature can rise about 80%. But Medford Police wants to warn parents that leaving young children in the car isn’t just dangerous, it’s also illegal.
“Leaving your kids in the car unattended, anyone under the age of 10 is a violation of city municipal code. So that alone is a violation regardless of heat,” Sgt. Rebecca Venables said.
During the summer, heat may seem like the biggest danger when leaving your child unattended, but kids-and-cars says it’s not the only one.
“Heat is just one of many dangers, thousands of children have been strangled to death or seriously injured by power windows. And every year hundreds of children are either injured or killed after knocking a car into gear. The number of things that go wrong when kids are left in cars is just infinite,” Rollins said.
Kids and cars encourages parents to leave something else important in the back seat with your child, like your phone. This way if you leave the item back there, you’ll be forced to go back and check.
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