DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog

Three weeks ago, we wrote about the dangers of children overheating in hot cars. A recent article in the York (PA) Daily Record should serve as a timely reminder to all of us to be extra vigilant about not leaving our children in cars as temperatures begin to soar this summer.

06/28/2010 10:20:33 PM EDT

"A Seven Valleys man was arrested Sunday after leaving a 7-month-old infant alone in a vehicle for about 30 minutes in the heat, according to Southwestern Regional Police.

Charles T. Frey Jr., 36, of Seven Valleys was arrested in connection with endangering the welfare of a child, disorderly conduct and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

A resident of a North Codorus Township apartment complex called police after observing the man drive up in a vehicle and walk into a residence without the baby.

Officers responded and found the child in a Ford Explorer. The vehicle was not running and the windows were left open, police said.

The baby was crying, and his face was bright red, police said. The temperature at the time was 92 degrees with a heat index of 96 degrees.

The boyfriend of the mother of the child was located in a nearby apartment. He could not observe the child in the vehicle and said that he had forgotten about the baby, police said.

The child was left alone for about 30 minutes.

A Seven Valleys ambulance crew found the infant to be conscious, alert and physically well."

[All emphasis above added].

Additional Resources:

• "Kids and Hot Cars: The Danger of Hyperthermia" – our original post
• The National Safety Council – Children In & Around Vehicles
• Safe Kids USA – In and Around Cars Fact Sheet
• Kids and Cars – Hyperthermia Incidents
•  “Heat Stress From Enclosed Vehicles: Moderate Ambient Temperatures Cause Significant Temperature Rise in Enclosed Vehicles” – Pediatrics, 2005.
•  “Heat related deaths to young children in parked cars: an analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995–2002” – Injury Prevention, 2005.
• “Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?” – Washington Post, 2009.
• “As the Weather Warms, Hyperthermia Deaths Mount” – New York Times, 2010.
• “How to Remind a Parent of the Baby in the Car?” – New York Times, 2010.