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Children, Hot Cars Are Deadly Mix

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 17, 2008

TAMPA - Over the past several months:

•A South Florida mother inadvertently leaves her 4-year-old son in her SUV for more than two hours while having her nails done on what was supposed to be her wedding day. Her son dies.

•A Tampa mother leaves her two children, ages 1 and 5, inside a running car with the air conditioner on for nearly an hour while she applies for a job. A passer-by discovers the children, and they recover.

•Two Hillsborough County parents are arrested when their 2-year-old son loses consciousness after being locked in a car with no air conditioning for 25 minutes. Again, a passer-by comes to the rescue, and the child recovers.

It seems obvious: Children shouldn't be left alone in cars. Yet parents and caregivers often find themselves doing just that as they run errands or try to avoid waking a child.

Often, they forget the child is in the car. No parent ever expects the children to die. Many are unaware they can go to jail for leaving them unattended.

Florida passed a law last year that made it a crime to leave any child younger than 6 alone in a motor vehicle for more than 15 minutes. It's a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Before, it was only a traffic violation and remains so for children left fewer than 15 minutes. The law also states that children are never to be left unattended in a vehicle with the motor running.

If the child is injured, it's possibly a third-degree felony that could bring a five-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine.

"I am really proud of that law," said House Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach, who sponsored the bill.

The issue got Gibbons' attention in 2004 after a man in his hometown was sentenced to 20 years in prison for leaving his baby in a parked car while he gambled on horses at Gulfstream Park. The infant died.

Shortly after that, a Boca Raton dentist forgot his toddler in an SUV for hours. The boy died; his father received 10 years' probation.

"There was no consistency," Gibbons said.

But it really wasn't about the punishment, the lawmaker said. He wanted people to be more aware of the dangers of leaving kids in cars.

"The more people hear about it, the less it will happen," he said.

Heat, Humans Aren't Sole Concern

Nationally, 36 children on average die each year as a result of being left in vehicles. So far, 20 have died this year. In Florida, three children died in 2006, the most recent data provided by the state's Child Abuse Death Review Committee.

Two died from the heat. The third child got his head stuck in the window while his father slept in the front seat. None of the parents realized their children were still in the car.

Five minutes can turn to 15, and in Florida, where the hot climes quickly can become deadly, children run the risk of hyperthermia. In just 10 minutes, a vehicle's temperature can rise by 19 degrees.

"Parents need to remember that children - especially younger and smaller ones - get dehydrated faster," said Peter Gorski, a doctor and director of innovation and research at The Children's Board of Hillsborough County.

Leaving the air conditioner on is no guarantee that children will be protected from high temperatures, he said.

Last month, a Mulberry Police Department dog died after his handler left him in her patrol car with the engine running and the air on. The air conditioner quit working, and the dog, which was in the car for about three hours, died.

Heat isn't the only danger, Gorski said. Children left in running cars can injure themselves or others by accidentally hitting a gear and putting the car in motion. Sometimes, they get hurt trying to escape the vehicle.

The majority of deaths nationwide are of children age 1 and younger. The average age is 24 months.

Accidents Happen

Janette Fennell, founder of Kids and Cars, a nonprofit safety group in Kansas, estimates that 51 percent of the incidents of children left in cars is unintentional.

Parents and caregivers are multitasking more than ever these days, she said. They're not bad people; they're sleep-deprived and frazzled.

"It's an issue that is so misunderstood," Fennell said.

In her national database, Fennell tracks deaths of children - some whose parents were hospital CEOs, dentists, NASA engineers.

"If it can happen to them, it can certainly happen to anybody," she said.

Fennell said Florida's law exacerbates the problem.

"Basically, it's saying that it's OK to leave your child in the car for 15 minutes," she said. "And it's not."

She is pushing state lawmakers to reword the law, but Gibbons said getting the legislation passed was difficult enough without tinkering with the language. Lawmakers wanted to be careful about punishing parents who may have accidentally contributed to their child's death, he said.

Fennell also is working for federal legislation that requires vehicles to have warnings for seat belt users not just in the front seats but the back as well.

"Let's face it, we're human," she said.

Mike Haney, a doctor and coordinator of Florida's Child Abuse Death Review Committee in Tallahassee, said Florida's law - even in its previous form - has had some impact on the number of deaths of children left in cars.

In 2004, 10 children died statewide. There were three deaths last year and one so far this year, though circumstances haven't been reviewed yet, Haney said.

"We've done a tremendous outreach effort with law enforcement, the state attorneys offices and the community," he said. "And the law, it's got a little more teeth in it. Hopefully a combination of the two will mean fewer children die."

Researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at sackerman@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7144.

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