5 Children Dead After Left In Hot Vehicles, 3 In Florida
Five children have died so far in 2023, after being left in a hot vehicle and three of them were from Florida. This death total is for 2023 in the United States and technically called a vehicular heatstroke. Each year, an average of 38 children under the age of 15 die after left in a hot vehicle.
On May 28, an infant died after they were left in a hot car for three hours. The parents were attending church and are co-pastors at Mount of Olives Evangelical Church. At that time, temperatures went into the high 80s and the child died.
The dangers of leaving children unattended in a hot car:
Leaving a child in a hot car can have catastrophic consequences and is extremely dangerous. The interior of a hot parked car can heat up rapidly and within minutes can reach deadly temperatures, even on a mild day. It’s important to educate yourself on the dangers associated with leaving a child inside an unattended hot car.
One of the biggest issues is having a heatstroke. Did you know a child’s body temperature can rise extremely fast? On average, it can go up three to five times faster than an adult. This can lead to organ failure, brain damage, and death. Dehydration is a huge problem when left in a hot vehicle. On a normal day kids have a hard time communicating when thirsty nevertheless trapped in a hot car.
Suffocation can also happen with rising temperatures, the lack of ventilation. If you go through a situation like this there can be long-term health issues. You can suffer from long-term health complications, including neurological problems and cognitive impairments. Emotional and psychological trauma can happen after being left alone in a hot car. You could experience severe emotional distress and trauma that can have long-lasting psychological effects on your mental well-being that could pop-up as you get older.