Tennessee Ranked 8th in Hot Car Related Child Deaths

A Memphis one year old was found dead in a hot car May 19th. It was the third hot car related child death in 2022.

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Memphis Police Department reported the death of a one year old, tragically lost after being left in a hot vehicle.

Tennessee ranks number eight in the nation for hot car child related deaths.Most hot car child deaths are the result of a change to an person’s morning routine and unknowingly leaving the child in the backseat.

But a new technology in cars is on the market and it is aiming to prevent these tragedies.

Greg Epps is the managing partner of North Georgia Toyota. He said he believes this technology is in it’s early stages and will continue to get better and more prevalent. “On a lot of the models, when you shut the car off, there’s a light that comes on the dash that says ‘check rear seat’,” Epps said. “It’s a good starting point, but I really think you’re gonna see more and more of these notifications and what not that would prevent leaving the child.”

Pets are also often times an unfortunate victim of being left in a hot car.

Jeanine Cloyd is the community outreach manager with the Humane educational society. She said many people think rolling your car windows makes a difference, however that is not true

“On a day where its 85 degrees, with in ten minutes your car is 110 degrees, even with all four windows cracked,” Cloyd said. “And then if you leave them 20 minutes it’s a 120 degrees, and it just continues to go up. So, even on a cooler day when temperatures are in the 70’s, if the sun is on your car, it is heating up like an oven.”

The National Highways and Traffic Safety Administration suggests placing a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to “look before you lock”.