Law enforcement agencies warn of hot car dangers
A recent warning by the Texas Department of Public Safety on the dangers of leaving children in hot vehicles hits close to home as Pittsburg has already had an incident occur this summer.
Pittsburg Police Chief Richard Penn said in a press release issued Monday, “On May 23, PPD officers responded to a child endangerment call. The investigation revealed that an infant child had been left in a car approximately three hours after a parent arrived at work.”
According to the release, the officers found the child in the 500 block of Mount Pleasant Street in Pittsburg. Officers arrested Willian Alberto Trejo, 36, of Pittsburg, and charged him with felony child endangerment. Camp County Jail records show Trejo was arrested at 11:48 a.m. and was released on bond at 3:17 p.m. The child was treated at UT Health Pittsburg, according to the release.
The PPD released no further information regarding the May 23 incident.
The Texas DPS warning issued May 24 stated that every year children die from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle or from entering a vehicle unnoticed.
“Such negligence could lead to criminal charges. A child should never be left unattended in a vehicle,” the DPS release stated.
“Children are needlessly dying every year because they are left unattended in vehicles,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “The public can do their part by notifying emergency personnel if they witness a child alone or in distress inside a vehicle – regardless of the weather conditions.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash-related fatalities among children. Temperatures inside a car can rise more than 20 degrees in only 10 minutes. Even with an outside temperature of 60 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 110 degrees. Leaving windows partially rolled down does not help. In addition, young children are particularly at risk since their bodies heat up faster than an adult.
The release from the PPD cited a 2014 article in Parents magazine that stated, “at a body temperature of 107 degrees, heatstroke is imminent.”
“Experts recommend that parents place something in the backseat that they will need when arriving at a destination. This can be something such as a phone or a purse,” Penn said in the statement. “If you witness a child in a vehicle unattended, notify 911 immediately.”
Heatstroke Prevention
The DPS offers the following tips for preventing vehicular heatstroke deaths and injuries:
• Never leave your child unattended in the vehicle.
Call 9-1-1 if you see a child alone in a car, and emergency personnel will provide guidance.
• Teach children not to play in vehicles, and make sure to place the keys out of reach when not being used.
• Always check the back seats or cargo areas of your vehicle before walking away.
• Establish reminders that help ensure you remove children from the vehicle. For example: leave your bag, lunch or cell phone in the back seat with the child’s car seat.
• If a child goes missing, open the doors and trunks to every vehicle in the area. Many heatstroke deaths occur when a child accesses a parked car unnoticed.
• Animals are also susceptible to heat-related injury or death. Do not put your pets in these life-threatening conditions.
National Heatstroke Prevention Day is July 31.
Through a national campaign, the National Highway Safety Administration offers information for parents, caregivers, schools and organizations and reminds people to Look Before You Lock! According to the NHTSA website, below are the current national statistics as of June 5:
• Total number of children that have died from heatstroke from 1998 - present: 751
• Number of children that have died from heatstroke in 2018: 9
• Number of children that died from heatstroke in 2017: 42
• Average number of child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 37