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Heat Claims the Lives of at Least 33 Children Left in Cars

5 June 2000

National SAFE KIDS Campaign and Meteorologists Advise Extreme Caution During Potentially Record-Setting High Temperatures This Summer
    
    WASHINGTON - At least 30 children died last summer, one child every four 
days on average, after being trapped in an automobile parked in the searing 
heat.  The majority of the fatalities occurred in June and July.  Thanks to 
help from the media following a SAFE KIDS news conference last August, the 
rate of these fatalities dramatically declined.  Shockingly, there have already 
been three known heat-related child fatalities within the last two weeks.  
This is a tragic start to a summer that the National Weather Service predicts 
will be warmer than usual across most of the country.  In response, the National 
SAFE KIDS Campaign is partnering with the American Meteorological Society 
to issue an urgent warning to parents and caregivers to take extra precautions 
with children in and around vehicles during the upcoming warm summer days.

    "These tragedies sharply illustrate that adults don't understand how
severely and quickly heat affects children," said Heather Paul, Ph.D.,
executive director of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.  "All adults must
understand that any unlocked car can become a deadly playground for small
children."

    According to data reported by the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety,
at least 30 children died last year from heat stroke when they became trapped
or were left in parked cars.  On July 27, 1999 in North Carolina, a 3-year-old
climbed into a hot empty car, buckled himself into his car seat and died in
the extreme heat.  Each of his parents mistakenly thought the boy was being
cared for by the other parent.  In Atlanta, two young brothers, both under age
three, died in July after wandering out of their backyard and into an unlocked
car parked outside the family home.  Temperatures that afternoon had reached
about 90 degrees.

    Three known deaths have already occurred within the last two weeks in
Phoenix, Hampton, VA and in Sussex County, New Jersey where a child was left
in a car seat for more than two hours.  The temperature outside was 63
degrees.

    According to a recent survey by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 10
percent of parents report that it's acceptable for young children to be left
in a car unattended.  Among parents between the ages of 18 and 24, twice as
many contend that it's okay to leave a child alone in a vehicle.  When the
outside temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit, even with a window cracked, the
temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit in just 20 minutes
and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes.   In these extreme conditions,
children can die or suffer permanent disability quickly - in a matter of
minutes.

    "Extreme heat affects infants and small children disproportionately," said
Martin Eichelberger, M.D., director of trauma surgery at Children's National
Medical Center and president of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.  "Heat
rapidly overwhelms the body's ability to regulate temperature.  In a closed
environment, the body can go into shock and circulation to vital organs will
begin to fail."

    The SAFE KIDS survey also found that only 50 percent of parents always
lock their cars at home and one out of five parents rarely or never does so.
More than a third of the deaths reported last year occurred when children
crawled into unlocked cars while playing and perished in the sweltering heat.
Unlocked cars pose serious risks to children who are naturally curious and
often lack fear.  Once they crawl in, they don't have the developmental
capability to get out.  In several cases, a parent or caregiver intentionally
left the child in a car while in other cases, the child was mistakenly
forgotten.

    The National SAFE KIDS Campaign has partnered with the American
Meteorological Society and its 850 broadcast meteorologists to help spread
awareness about the dangers of leaving kids in cars, especially during warm
temperatures.  During upcoming weather forecasts, broadcast meteorologists
around the country will remind parents and caregivers how to keep their kids
safe this summer.

    The National SAFE KIDS Campaign warns parents to be especially vigilant
about their children's safety on days when temperatures are 80 degrees or
higher by offering the following safety precautions to combat heat-related
injuries in cars:

    * Keep cars locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway.
    * Teach children not to play in or around cars.
    * Never leave your child in an unattended car, even with the windows down.
    * Always make sure that all child passengers have left the car.
    * If your child gets locked inside a car, get him out and dial 9-1-1 or
      your local emergency number immediately.
    * Make sure you check the temperature of the car seat surface and safety
      belt buckles before restraining your children in the car.
    * Use a light covering to shade the seat of your parked car. Consider
      using windshield shades in front and back windows.

    Car trunks can be especially hazardous. Kids get in but can't always get
out. In very hot weather, heat stroke may result and could lead to permanent
disability or even death in a matter of minutes.

    * Keep the trunk of your car locked at all times, especially when parked
      in the driveway or near the home.
    * Keep the rear fold-down seats closed to help prevent kids from getting
      into the trunk from inside the car.
    * Put car keys out of children's reach and sight.
    * Be wary of child-resistant locks. Teach older children how to disable
      the driver's door locks if they unintentionally become entrapped in a
      motor vehicle.
    * Contact your automobile dealership about getting your vehicle
      retrofitted with a trunk release mechanism.

    For more information, write to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, 1301
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004 or visit the
Campaign's website at http://www.safekids.org

    The survey was conducted by Bruskin Goldring Research.  The sample size of
this national survey was 700 families with children under 18.  There is a
sample reliability of + or - 3.5% at a 95% level of confidence.

    The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the first and only national
organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood
injury - the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. More than 280
State and Local SAFE KIDS Coalitions in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico comprise the Campaign. 

    The American Meteorological Society currently promotes the development and
dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related
oceanic and hydrologic sciences. Founded in 1919, AMS now has a membership of
more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts.
AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals,
sponsors more than 12 conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and
services.

                         2000 Heat-related Fatalities
                           Children Age 4 and Under

    Child's Name           Age      Date     City/State        Circumstance

    Martin Medina      4 years    May 24    Phoenix, AZ             Playing

    Jack Hayes         13 mos.    May 24     Newton, NJ            Sleeping

    Benjamin Shelton    9 mos.    May 25   York Co., VA          Unattended
                                                         instead of daycare




                         1999 Heat-related Fatalities
                           Children Age 4 and Under

    Child's Name                     Age                                Date
                              City/State                        Circumstance

    Damon Adams     4 years     March 17   Cincinatti, OH   Unattended while
                                                                uncle worked

    Justin Miller   2 years       June 5    Fairfield, OH            Playing

    Jory Johnson    3 years       June 5     Rockford, IL            Playing

    Nnamdi Chidomere 1 year       June 6      Houston, TX   Unattended after
                                                                     baptism

    Dallas Johnson  2 years       June 7     Rockford, IL            Playing

    Stacey
      Stinger   2 1/2 years       June 7 Gaithersburg, MD          Caregiver
                                                               housecleaning

    Cailan Cutillo   5 mos.      June 14    Claremont, CA        Unattended,
                                                              parents asleep
                                                                    in hotel

    Krystal
      Domingues     15 mos.      June 28     Temecula, CA        Unattended,
                                                                mom had been
                                                                    drinking

    Melanie
      Auriene       2 years       July 4      Lombard, IL       Unattended,
                                                                    sleeping

    Cody Britt      2 years       July 4    Masontown, PA       Playing with
                                                                    siblings

    Arnold
      Guzman     21/2 years       July 5        Omaha, NE       Playing with
                                                                     brother

    Jermaine
      Christmas     18 mos.       July 7     Sarasota, FL        Unattended,
                                                             grandparents at
                                                                      church

    Leslie
      Ramirez       2 years      July 13        Apoka, FL            Playing

    Brian Puckett   11 mos.      July 13    Lexington, KY   Unattended, baby
                                                             sitter shopping

    Thorance Fungwe  5 mos.      July 14      Detroit, MI         Unattended
                                                          instead of daycare

    Alec Benavides  3 years      July 18    Parkville, MD            Playing

    Scott Hearn 2 1/2 years      July 20      Atlanta, GA            Playing

    Trayce Hearn                 1 1/2 years      July 20      Atlanta, GA
Playing

    Darnecia Slater 22 mos.      July 21      Memphis, TN      Unattended in
                                                                 daycare van

    Brandon Mann    2 years      July 21      Memphis, TN      Unattended in
                                                                 daycare van

    Tykeill Stacker 2 years      July 25   Greensboro, NC         Unattended
                                                              outside church

    George Barber   3 years      July 25   Laurinburg, NC            Playing

    Daniel Ellison   7 mos.      July 29       Clovis, NM         Unattended
                                                          instead of daycare

    Luis
      Fernando
      Pineda
      Valdovins 2 1/2 years     August 1     San Jose, CA            Playing

    Senan Arteaga    8 mos.     August 1      Houston, TX        Unattended,
                                                            left in car seat

    Unkown          2 years       August  Fayette County, WA         Playing

    Samuel Jackson  7 weeks    August 15        Tulsa, OK   Unattended while
                                                              mother shopped

    Miah
      Chevendychenko
      -viaz     1 1/2 years    August 24      McAllen, TX         Unattended

    Amaya Banks     10 mos.  September 8  Baton Rouge, LA        Unattended,
                                                         sitter at Dr. appt.

    Jacie Sellers   15 mos. September 23  Hattiesburg, MS        Unattended,
                                                          instead of daycare