A 4-year-old boy has died after being left inside a hot car for several hours in Vidor on Saturday, according to KidsandCars.org.
KBMT-TV, the dual ABC/NBC affiliate in Beaumont, reported the child was found at about 8 p.m. Saturday outside the Donut Palace. So far, no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.
Texas ranks first in the nation based on the number of child hot car deaths with 140 fatalities since 1991. The last two years have been the worst years in history for child hot car deaths with at least 107 deaths nationwide.
This year, KidsAndCars.org has documented 18 fatalities nationwide.
"We are currently much lower than the average number of hot car deaths for this time of year due to the pandemic, but we are concerned that the numbers will increase as routines continue to shift and families begin going back to work," Amber Rollins, Director of KidsAndCars.org, said. "About 56% of hot car deaths are the result of children being unknowingly left in vehicles."
The Hot Cars Act is a federal bill that would require available, affordable technology to detect the presence of a child inside a vehicle to come as standard equipment on all motor vehicles.
KidsAndCars.org is working with parents whose children have died in hot cars to get a federal bill passed that would prevent further deaths. The Hot Cars Act would require technology to detect the presence of a child inside a vehicle to be standard equipment on all motor vehicles.
HOT CAR SAFETY
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According to the National Safety Council, if it's 95 degrees outside the internal temperature of a car could climb to 129 degrees in 30 minutes. After just 10 minutes, temperatures inside could reach 114 degrees.
A child's body temperature heats up three to five times faster than an adult and heatstroke can begin when a person's core body temperature reaches 104 degrees. A core temperature of 107 degrees is lethal, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
