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Raelyn Balfour column: We need more car regulation to keep kids safe
On the morning of March 30, 2007, I was positive that I had dropped off my son, Bryce, at his babysitter’s house. I did not learn until later that afternoon when the babysitter called that he was not with her. My son died after being left in my car all day. The high that day was only 66 degrees, but that was enough. He died, and was only 9 months old.
Unlocking backseat heatstroke deaths
Two summers ago, 2-year-old Leasia Carter of Belair-Edison died in the backseat of a Lincoln because her dad, who had been drinking on a Father’s Day celebration, had forgotten she was there. In February of this year, that man was sentenced to eight years in prison for what he confessed to be a “horrible mistake.” But what if he had been given a second chance? What if he’d gotten a reminder to check the back seat after he drove home? Surely, that would have increased the likelihood that his daughter would have survived that fateful day.
BABY GIRL DIES IN CAR AS MOM WORKED ALL DAY — 911 CALL TELLS HEART-WRENCHING STORY
A 15-month-old baby girl died while strapped into her car seat in the backseat of her mother’s car while her mom worked all day. When the baby’s mother returned to the car at the end of her workday, she discovered the baby and by that time, it was too late. While the official cause of death was not immediately known, officials did say they believe the high temperature inside that car was a contributing factor to the death of the baby girl.
Cars Are Starting To Remind Us Not To Leave Baby In The Back Seat
Your car already reminds you of a lot of things. Fasten your seat belt, charge your battery, inflate your tires, fill the tank. Now Congress wants car makers to work in another one: a reminder to check the backseat. The goal is to cut down on the number of kids who die every year in hot cars. On average, 37 kids die each year that way; this year, the toll is 35, and it's only August. The Hot Cars Act of 2017 — recently introduced in the House and the Senate — doesn't specify the form that reminder should take.
If a child is left in a hot car, the vehicle should alert you, advocates for law say
Jennifer Hilton is a loving mother who would never put a child in danger. Until the day she did. On Oct. 6, 2010, Hilton forgot to drop her son Chris at day care — a job her husband usually did — and instead left the toddler in the car when she went to work in south suburban Crestwood. Luckily, Chris was found before he died of heatstroke. Hilton, who has moved out of state, said she now knows this could happen to anyone. She volunteers to speak on the issue through KidsAndCars.org, a Kansas-based safety advocacy group. "You mix exhaustion with a change of routine and stress and you're waiting for a bomb to explode," said Hilton, 41.
