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Child dies after being found inside parked car
A three-year-old child has died after being found unresponsive inside a parked car late Saturday night. As our summer temperatures rise, experts are begging parents and caregivers to be on high alert. FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports.
RIVERVIEW, Fla. - According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, a father found his 3-year-old child unresponsive inside a car on Saturday night.
When was the child found?
The backstory:
Officials say deputies arrived at a home on Emerald Shore Drive around 10:40 p.m. after receiving reports of an unresponsive child. At the scene, law enforcement came in contact with a father who found his 3-year-old child unresponsive inside a parked car.
The child was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital - South and pronounced dead, according to HCSO.
What they're saying:
"This tragedy underscores a critical danger that we must never take for granted," said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a statement. "A vehicle can reach lethal temperatures within minutes. We urge every parent and caregiver in our community to make hot vehicle safety a priority. Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for a moment."
Hot car deaths
By the numbers:
According to the national nonprofit, Kids and Car Safety, this is at least the eighth child to die in a hot car nationwide this year. Two of these eight cases happened here in the Bay area, with the first happening in Winter Haven in March.
"As a mom, I cannot imagine losing a child and losing a child in this way. It's just completely devastating. Most of the time, it's somebody who loved that child, who was responsible for their death and had no idea it was happening. Just completely heartbroken, really," Kids and Car Safety executive director Amber Rollins said. "As a safety advocate, looking at this from a different perspective, it's incredibly frustrating that it still happens because we know that there are safety solutions out there that could prevent this."
Rollins told FOX 13 that in about half of all cases, kids are unknowingly left behind in the car. And in one of four cases, a child climbs into a car on their own and cannot get out.
What you can do:
Rollins shared the following tips:
- ‘Look before you lock:’ "Open that back door, check the back seat every single time you leave your vehicle," Rollins said of creating this simple habit.
- Keep a stuffed animal in your backseat all the time. When a child is with you, put that stuffed animal in your lap as a visual reminder of their backseat presence.
- Buy smart chest clips for the carseat, which connect to an app on your phone and will alert you.
- Pay attention to any ‘end-of-trip’ reminders on your vehicle.
Staff members with Kids and Car Safety have been calling on the auto industry for change and pushing federal leaders to regulate what kind of backseat technology vehicles must include – arguing they should be more sophisticated.
"There are systems out there that will remind you to check the backseat. People are very confused about these systems. They think it's detecting their child. It's not — it's just detecting you opened a back door. We don't want people to rely on these systems. You need extra safeguards in place," Rollins added.
Will charges be filed?
At this time, no charges have been filed, according to the sheriff's office, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Source: Information for this story was collected from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.