The Dangers Of Kids In Hot Cars
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Summer is officially underway. Even though we have not quite hit 100 degrees yet, safety experts are trying to warn parents about the dangerous combination of kids and hot cars. Texas has topped the list of children dying in hot vehicles since 1998, so the folks at Children's Medical Center hosted an event on Wednesday to show how quickly a child can succomb to the heat inside a car -- even when it is not very hot outside.
Cleburne resident Jody Parsons never dreamed that she would have to share the story of her daughter's death. "I never thought in a million years I'd be standing here before you in this capacity," she said. In July of last year, right in the middle of the hottest summer on record, 1-year-old Lili Claire Parsons went outside without telling her nanny. The child climbed into the family car, parked in the driveway, and did not come out alive.
Temperatures inside of the car that day were easily over 130 degrees.
"I have been that person who sat there at home on my couch watching the news, seeing stories like this unfold on the television, and thinking awful thoughts about 'How can you leave your child in a car?' Now, I know," Parsons said. "This happens to normal, well-intentioned, good parents who love their children."
During the Wednesday event, it was much cooler than that fateful July day -- temperatures only reached 91.8 degrees outside -- but the temperature inside of a truck still hit the sweltering number of 139 degrees. "Where is that infant going to go when the temperature inside the car, and his or her body temperature, start to go up? They have nowhere to go," said Dr. Halim Hennis, Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children's Medical Center.
The body temperature of a child heats up five times faster than that of an adult. Even on a relatively mild day -- with temperatures in the 70s -- the temperature inside of a car can climb into the 90s in just minutes.
A short amount of time inside of a car-turned-oven can have devastating impacts even if the child does not die. "Those who live can live with some devastating neurological or other complications as a result of the heat stroke," Hennis said.
Parsons hopes that her daughter's death provides a powerful teaching moment for everyone, even those who are not directly taking care of children. "Listen to our story," she said. "It's so important."
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