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By Haley Potter
ERIE, Pa. (Erie News Now) – On hot days like Tuesday, it can happen a situation inside a vehicle can turn deadly a matter of minutes.
Leaving a child or a pet in the car even just for a few minutes can be dangerous and even deadly.
“Even within a very short period of time, the temperature within the car can get pretty hot,” Dr. Jestin Carlson, an Emergency Room Doctor at AHN St. Vincent said.
He told Erie News Now that when children are left inside the car, they can die of heatstroke. In fact, children get over heated 3 to 5 times faster than adults.
“It can progress to heat stroke where individual have very high temperatures, and could even lose consciousness and then unfortunately, some folks even die from this,” he said.
Every year in the United States, an average of 38 children die after being left in hot cars, according to new research, but even just one child a year is too many and can be prevented.
“We ask everyone to please be aware and anyone in the public who may see a child left alone in a vehicle, please contact 911, “Lieutenant Jamie Russo from Erie City Police told Erie News Now.
In his 22 years of law enforcement, he has responded to these types of deadly calls.
He is calling on parents to be vigilant.
Engineers are working hard to create a system to allow people to know when something is in their backseat, but in the meantime, experts suggest putting something you need in the backseat with your child or pet so you never forget, or putting a teddy bear in the front seat to remind you the child is in the back.
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