Hot-Car Deaths By The Numbers In Florida: How To Prevent Them

FLORIDA — Temperatures in Florida are rising as summer 2021 hits full force, which means a heightened risk of death for any children left inside a hot car.

Florida totaled 96 hot car deaths among victims 14 years old or younger from 1998 to 2020, according to NoHeatStroke.org, a nonprofit organization that seeks to track every child hot-car death in America. Per capita, that’s 27.37 hot car deaths per 1 million kids age 14 and younger, the statistics show.

Last summer, a woman in Palm Beach County was charged with child neglect for leaving her 2-year-old daughter in the car while she shopped at the Wellington Mall Macy's for half an hour amid 96-degree heat, the Miami Herald reported. She was sentenced to six months of probation and parenting classes, according to court records.

Not far from Fort Lauderdale, a day care driver was charged with aggravated manslaughter after the body of Noah Sneed, 2, was found in van parked outside Ceressa's Daycare and Preschool in Oakland Park on July 29, 2019. Court records show the the woman has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. A conference call in the case is slated for July 8.

Related: Florida Toddler Dies After Being Left In Hot Day Care Van

More than 100 children have died from heat stroke after having been left in hot cars in Texas — the only state with more child hot-car deaths than the Sunshine State, according to NoHeatStroke.com. Per capita, Oklahoma has recorded the most.

Only three states — Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont — have not recorded any child hot-car deaths since 1998.

Young children are at a heightened risk of dying of heat stroke, and not only due to their inability to escape a hot car. A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than that of an adult, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees, and children can die when theirs reaches 107.

As the national child hot-car death toll since 1998 approaches 900, the NHTSA has issued renewed reminders and tips to help parents and other caregivers prevent leaving children in cars during hot weather.

From the NHTSA:

1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended — even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running and the air conditioning is on.
2. Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away. Train yourself to “Park, Look, Lock,” or always ask yourself, "Where's Baby?"
3. Ask your child care provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
4. Place a personal item such as a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
5. Store car keys out of a child's reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.

— By Tim Moran and Elizabeth Janney