Press Release

Congressman Mike Castle Joins Safe Kids New Castle County to Help Eliminate Hyperthermia Deaths

Child deaths from heat stroke in vehicles on record pace

July 12, 2010

[Wilmington, Delaware] — Congressman Mike Castle is joining Safe New Castle County to urge parents and caregivers to never leave children alone in cars.  Twenty children this year have died after overheating in hot cars in the U.S., the most deaths in the first half of a year since researchers began tracking such deaths in 1998.  Seven children died during the week of June 13, the highest weekly toll ever recorded.  Congressman Castle and Safe Kids New Castle County will hold a press conference on the topic at 1:00 pm in the main lobby of the Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children.

“July has historically been the worst month for child hyperthermia deaths, and our goal is to help make sure no more children will die because they were unattended in a vehicle,” said Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE).  “ We want parents and caregivers to take precautions so that this tragedy does not happen to them.” 

“All kids deserve to grow up healthy, safe and injury free, so we need parents and caregivers to maintain their diligence,” added Castle.   “Only two years ago, a child accidentally locked himself in a vehicle and died on a hot summer day in Delaware.  Though rare, an incident could happen at any time.”

 “A child’s body heats up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s and unattended children have no way of protecting themselves in a hot vehicle” says Sean M. Elwell, RN, BSN, Safe Kids New Castle County Chairman and Injury Prevention Coordinator at the Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children. “On average, 37 children die each year and all the deaths were preventable.”

Between 1998 and today, 465 children died from heat stroke because they were unattended in vehicles that became too hot for them to survive.  More than 50 percent of the children who died from heat stroke were forgotten by a caring adult who became distracted when they left the vehicle.  When left unattended by an adult, thirty percent of affected kids gained entry into an unlocked vehicle, became trapped and were overcome by heat. It takes only minutes for a child to be at risk of death and serious, permanent injury in a hot car. Drivers must keep car doors locked and keys out of reach from young children.

Safe Kids New Castle County urges all adults who transport children to take the following steps:

• Dial 911 immediately if you see an unattended child in a car. EMS professionals are trained to determine if a child is in trouble.

• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even with the window slightly open.

• Place a cell phone, PDA, purse, briefcase, gym bag or whatever is to be carried from the car on the floor in front of a child in a backseat. This triggers adults to see children when they open the rear door and reach for their belongings.

• Set your cell phone or Blackberry reminder to be sure you dropped your child off at day care.

• Set your computer calendar program, such as Outlook, to ask, “Did you drop off at daycare today?”

• Have a plan that if your child is late for daycare that you will be called within a few minutes. Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off little kids at day care.

• Teach children not to play in any vehicle.

• Lock all vehicle doors and trunk after everyone has exited the vehicle – especially at home. Keep keys out of children’s reach. Cars are not playgrounds or babysitters.

• Check vehicles and trunks FIRST if a child goes missing.

More Information

For more information on preventing hyperthermia deaths, please call Safe Kids New Castle County at 302-651-5437 or visit www.ggweather.com/heat and www.safekids.org/nlyca. Be sure to NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILD ALONE in a car.

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Safe Kids New Castle County works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. Safe Kids New Castle County is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids New Castle County is led by Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children.

Media Contact

Katherine Collins
Public Relations Associate
kcollins@safekids.org
Office: (202) 662-4476
Cell: (314) 791-0537

July 12, 2010