TEXAS — This has been the hottest week in Texas so far in 2024, and the state has already recorded three hot car deaths this year, according to reporting by Kids and Car Safety. Twenty-seven children have died in hot cars across the U.S. so far in 2024.
Children died after being left in hot cars in Corpus Christi, Houston and Beeville.
The Corpus Christi and Beeville hot car deaths occurred this week. The Houston death took place on July 3.
Kids and Car Safety additionally reports that since 1990, at least 1,109 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. and at least another 7,500 survived with various injuries.
In half of hot car deaths, Kids and Car Safety said, the person responsible for the child unknowingly left them in the vehicle. In many cases, it’s a parent at fault.
In Texas, leaving a child in a vehicle is a crime if the parent or guardian leaves the child for more than five minutes knowing that the child is younger than age 7 and not attended by an person in the vehicle who is age 14 or older.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that on average in the U.S., 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle.
The CDC provided the following prevention tips:
- Check the back seat
- Always lock your car doors and trunk
- Never let children play in an unattended vehicle
- Never leave a child alone in a parked car
- Keep kids cool and hydrated
- Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing
- Make sure they're drinking plenty of fluids
- Stay away from really cold drinks or drinks with too much sugar