DELAWARE - As summer temperatures continue across Delmarva, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety is reminding parents and caregivers to never leave a child alone in a vehicle.
The agency held its annual pediatric vehicular heatstroke prevention event in Dover on Friday, demonstrating how quickly temperatures inside a parked car can rise compared to the temperature outside.
Officials said Delaware has not experienced a pediatric vehicular heatstroke death since 2019 and has recorded only two such deaths since 1999. However, they say fire departments still respond each year to calls involving children locked inside vehicles.
"We do this preventative measure every year just to really emphasize that people need to look before they lock," child passenger safety technician Kayla Mason said.
According to the Office of Highway Safety, more than half of the 1,051 child vehicular heatstroke deaths reported nationwide over the past 28 years involved children who were unintentionally left in vehicles by caregivers.
Officials say these incidents can happen to anyone, especially during busy routines when caregivers become distracted or forget a child is in the back seat.
To help prevent tragedies, the Office of Highway Safety recommends placing a purse, wallet or another essential item in the back seat as a reminder to check before locking the vehicle. Drivers are also encouraged to activate rear-seat reminder features available in many newer vehicles.
