Bullshit.
Every. Damn. One. should be ruled as negligence, with whomever at fault locked up--preferably in a non-air conditioned cell.
Now, I am NOT a parent and I was raised as the only child, but not once--NOT ONCE--did my working single mom EVER leave me behind ANYWHERE. She never even once forgot to pick me from pre-school or dance rehearsal or from the Kids' Klub at Sportslife gym.
The excuse for these recent "accidental" deaths is "the parents' routines got altered for the day." Meaning, for example, one parent who usually doesn't take the kid for the day ended up doing do so and thus "forgot" or one parent thought the other was removing the child from the car or vice versa. The defense is, "Well, every parent says, 'That will never happen to me' but obviously it does, and until you have children, you have no idea how hectic your life will be and what will happen."
Bullshit.
- A two-year-old was left in a hot car for NINE HOURS OUTSIDE A FAMILY MEMBER'S HOME. NINE HOURS.
- Another toddler died of heat stroke after a neighbor picked up the boy to take him to HER day care center. She discovered him when she went back out to her car SIX HOURS LATER.
Last year, 42 children died while locked in hot cars. So far, with only 2 weeks into summer, 17 children have already died from vehicular hyperthermia. Of the 414 vehicular hyperthermia deaths in the last 11 years, more than half of the cases were deemed "forgotten."
Every single one of us knows how desperately we crank up the A/C the second we re-enter the car on a summer afternoon. In 80 degree heat, the inside of a car reaches 109 degrees after just 20 minutes ; 123 degrees after 50 minutes. With the current heat wave and drought gripping the nation, these unfortunate children were locked in cars where the outside temperatures were in excess of 80 and even 90 degrees. What makes parents think their 18-month-old or five-year-old or golden retriever are impenetrable to the heat?
Only 17 states have laws prosecuting those who leave children in hot cars, "accidental" or not, and only 7 more states are currently working on getting such legislation passed. How many more children have to die this year?--next year?--before all 50 states no longer allow "accidental" or "forgotten" vehicular hyperthermia deaths?
Now, returning to The Weather Channel broadcasts for a moment. For each report, the meteorologists offered advice and interviewed various experts in an attempt to prevent any more children dying from hot cars. 'Leave a note on your dash or a stuffed toy in the passenger seat reminding you your child is in the back' was one such comment; 'Place your briefcase or purse in the backseat instead of next to you' was another. They even discussed a product called ChildMinder that syncs your child's car seat up with your car. If you walk away from your car with your child still locked inside, the ChildMinder device on the car seat beeps loudly as you walk away, reminding you that your Precious Baby is sleeping like an angel in the back.
The fact that products like ChildMinder even have to exist is abhorrent. The fact that over 50% of all vehicular hyperthermia deaths are ruled "accidental" is even more so.
The pain, agony, guilt, and inexplicable grief the parents or caregivers will have to live with for the rest of their lives is NOT enough. They're child-killers now.
Let 'em fry.
