HEALTHY COLORADO: How to keep your kids safe in and around cars during the heat

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- With possible record-breaking heat this week, it's important to remind everyone of the dangers of kids in hot cars.

Hot car deaths don't just happen when kids are forgotten in vehicles, but children can get into cars unattended and often can't get back out.

It may seem like common sense, but doctors say the reminders do save lives every summer.

More than 1,000 children have died of heatstroke in the last 25 years because they were left or became trapped in a hot car, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2024, 39 children died of heatstroke in vehicles. Doctors say a child's body temperatures rise three to five times faster than that of adults. And it doesn't take much. When the outside is 70 degrees, the inside of a car can get over 115 degrees.

"Cars can heat up really rapidly," says Dr. Neil Cella, a pediatric ER doctor with HCA HealthONE. It can raise 20 degrees in 10 minutes."

Dr. Cella says get into the habit of checking the entire vehicle every time you leave it. Place a personal item like a wallet or phone in the backseat as a reminder to look before you lock. And to store keys away from the reach of children. Lock vehicle doors year-round and educate them about not playing in vehicles.

"Car tragedies and heat stroke tragedies also can happen from an unattended vehicle," says Dr. Cella. "Toddlers and up to kindergarten and first graders think that key and fobs nowadays are like a toy. And so they'll get into a car without the parents' knowledge. So I do think having an idea of where you store your key every day and maybe making it out of reach of toddlers is a good safety tip."

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, don't wait. Make sure the child is responsive and okay. Dr.Cella says if not, call 911 immediately, get the child out of the car, and spray them with cool water. If the child is unresponsive or in distress, attempt to get into the vehicle even if that means breaking a window.

Colorado does have a Good Samaritan law allowing individuals to provide emergency assistance to others without fear of legal repercussions.

Signs of heatstroke include:

• Red, hot skin that may or may not be sweating
• Either a strong or slow pulse
• Nausea
• Confusion or strange behavior

If you or your child experiences any of those, seek medical help immediately.

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