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In 2019, there were 52 hot car deaths and a record number of 53 hot car deaths in 2018. The Cape Coral Police Department urges drivers to check the front and back seats for children before locking a car and walking away.

ABC News reported, “Despite numerous warnings and national news stories on hot car deaths, children are dying of vehicular heatstroke at a staggering rate. Children should never be left alone in a car, even if drivers think they’ll be just a few minutes. On a 70-degree day, it takes only 15 minutes for the car to reach 96 degrees. On an 80-degree, it takes only 10 minutes to reach 100 degrees.”

Mayor Skip Campbell of Coral Springs, Florida, witnessed a potentially hot car death in 2017, according to the Sun-Sentinel. He was at Dick’s Sporting Goods shopping for tennis balls when he saw a 6-month-old girl left strapped in a hot car with its windows down 1 inch. Firefighters unlocked and removed the child from the car. The police then waited 20 minutes for the father to come out of the sporting goods store. According to a police report, there was no water in the girl’s cup, and the child could have been dehydrated or injured if left alone any longer.

The NSC reported that children as young as 5 days and as old as 14 years have died in hot cars. More than half of the deaths were children under the age of 2.

There are some automakers that are working to provide an alert system for drivers. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers announced in 2019 that automakers would voluntarily add rear seat warnings to new vehicles.

This is a welcomed sign that deaths may be reduced with vehicle alerts, but they are not available at this time. Drivers are responsible for keeping children safe from dying in hot vehicles.

Additional information can be found by reading Florida Statute 316.6135 regarding leaving children unattended or unsupervised in motor vehicles; penalty; authority of law enforcement officer.

“We provide compassionate and skilled representation to families with a child who has been injured or killed in an accident that is attributable to the negligence or carelessness of another. Please contact us. There are no costs or attorney fees until we have a monetary recovery for you,” said Fort Myers Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.

Fort Myers Child Injury Lawyer Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one percent (1%) of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact  Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A, in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll-free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County at 239.793.7748.