5-year-old Texas boy dies in hot car as family prepared for sibling’s birthday party – NBC News
A 5-year-old boy died after being left in a hot car for several hours, according to authorities.
The boy’s mother returned home with an 8-year-old child and the younger sibling, who was “strapped in a child safety seat in the back,” according to a post on Gonzalez’s Facebook page. The older sibling exited the car and the mother assumed the other child was out also, Gonzalez said.
This young boy isn’t the only victim to suffer from such a terrible fate. A 3-month-old boy died Thursday after being left in his parents’ car “for several hours,” a 1-year-old died on May 19, and an 8-month-old girl died weeks before that.
Cars can reach 125 degrees in minutes, and a child’s body overheats five times faster than an adult’s. This makes them much more vulnerable when left alone in a hot vehicle without supervision or air conditioning.
On average, 38 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a car. The NHTSA recommends that caregivers never leave children unattended in a car, and that people check the car before walking away.
For more information on this story, consider the following news outlets listed below.
- 5-year-old Texas boy dies in hot car as family prepared for sibling’s birthday party NBC News
- 5-year-old boy died after being left in a car for hours while his mother prepared for a birthday party, report says CNN
- Child dies after being left in hot car KPRC 2 Click2Houston
- Boy, 5, dies after being left in hot vehicle for hours; mom thought he was in house, HCSO says FOX 26 Houston
- Texas 5-year-old boy dead after being left in hot car for hours, mom thought he was inside house, cops say Fox News