Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Thursday, July 17, 2008

Hotter than you think: Authorities warn against leaving children in car

By ANNE JUNGEN La Crosse Tribune

Health officials are warning parents about the dangers of leaving children inside vehicles in hot weather after two such incidents in the past month.

“A minute is too long,” said Tri-State Ambulance Director Matt Zavadsky. “There’s no reason to leave a child in a car.”

A 32-year-old Ettrick, Wis., woman was charged earlier this week with second-degree reckless endangerment and child neglect for leaving her

6-month-old alone in a car for 90 minutes while she shopped inside the Dollar Tree Store in Onalaska, Wis., according to the complaint filed in La Crosse County Circuit Court. The temperature outside was 74 degrees. It was not known if the child was injured.

A 40-year-old La Crosse woman left her 3-year-old daughter inside a car for about 20 minutes in 82-degree heat Monday while parked at Woodman’s grocery store, according to Onalaska police. Two people called police about 5:30 p.m.

The mother told officers she’d forgotten she had her daughter with her. Paramedics checked the child but did not transport her to a hospital.

The woman was not arrested, but the case was referred to the county’s Child Protective Services and district attorney’s office for possible charges.

Children sometimes are left in the car while a parent runs a quick errand. Other times, mom or dad forgets the child is in the

backseat. But leaving a child inside a closed car — whether accidental or intentional — on summer days can result in injury or death.

“It’s imperative not to leave a child in car for any reason,” said Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center Trauma and Emergency Center nurse Judy Gilbert.

Vehicles quickly can reach dangerous temperatures, even in 70-degree weather, Gilbert said.

And the body temperatures of infants and small children can increase three to five times faster than an adult, experts said. In hot weather, an infant or small child’s internal temperature could rise two degrees in 10 to 15 minutes, Zavadsky said.

Their small bodies become vulnerable to convulsions and seizures, then to heat exhaustion and heat stoke within 30 minutes, he said.

“At that point, the vital organs begin to die,” Zavadsky said.

About 365 children in the U.S. died from 1998 to 2007 after being left in hot vehicles, according to Safe Kids USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing child injury. Most were 3 and younger.

SAFETY TIPS