3 children have died in hot cars in the US in 2025. How to prevent it amid Texas heat wave
No one wants to be called a bad parent or be accused of being a malicious person.
Over the past 25 years, more than 970 children have died from heatstroke because they were left or trapped in a hot car for too long, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
So far in 2025, there have been three hot car deaths with one in California, Maryland and New Jersey, according to data from the National Safety Council. While there have been no reported child hot car deaths in Texas yet, it's always a concern with rising temperatures.
Here is what people can do to prevent this tragedy.
Jan Null, CCM, from the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San Jose State University, has compiled data on child heatstroke deaths in hot vehicles. This information is presented through noheatstroke.org, a program backed by the National Safety Council. The data is sourced from continuous online searches of electronic media, using platforms such as Google News and Lexis-Nexus.
The interactive chart allows people to explore vehicle-related heatstroke deaths among children by year, month, outside ambient temperature and state.
Some may wonder how people can forget a child in a car. According to the National Library of Medicine, Forgotten Baby Syndrome is real.
Based on limited research, NIH found that the adults who were unaware or had forgotten a child had perfectly intact psychic and cognitive functions.
Here's what you can do to avoid these situations:
Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.
Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — especially the back seat — before locking the doors and walking away.
Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn't show up for care as expected.
Place a personal item like a purse or a bag in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
Store car keys out of a child's reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.
Place a reminder on your phone with an alarm that you have a child who needs to be taken out of the car.
NHTSA suggests that if you see a child locked in a car, act immediately and call 911. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.
According to data from Kids and Car Safety, since 1990, Texas has led the nation in child heatstrokes, with 156 deaths in total. Almost 90% of children who die are 3 or younger, according to their data.
In 2018 and 2019, we saw a record number of hot car deaths — 53 children died each year in the U.S., the most in at least 25 years, according to NoHeatstroke.org.
In 2023, 29 children died of heatstroke in vehicles in the U.S.
A child's body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult's. When a child is left in a vehicle, that child's temperature can rise quickly, and the situation can quickly become dangerous.
Heatstroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees.
A child can die when their body temperature reaches 107 degrees.
Here are the symptoms to watch for:
Cramping
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Headache
Irritability
Coordination problems
Nausea
Vomiting
Fainting
Weakness
Heatstroke and heat exhaustion are both heat-related illnesses that occur due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures, especially when combined with high humidity and physical exertion. However, they differ significantly in severity and symptoms.
Heat exhaustion is a condition resulting from excessive loss of water and salt through sweating, leading to an imbalance in the body's electrolytes. Heatstroke is a severe, life-threatening condition that occurs when the body's temperature regulation system fails, causing body temperature to rise to dangerous levels (104°F or higher).
Heavy sweating
Weakness or fatigue
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Nausea or vomiting
Headache
Muscle cramps
Cool, moist skin with goosebumps when in the heat
Rapid, weak pulse
Low blood pressure upon standing
High body temperature (104°F or higher)
Hot, dry skin (absence of sweating) or heavy sweating
Altered mental state or behavior (confusion, agitation, slurred speech)
Seizures
Loss of consciousness
Rapid, strong pulse
Nausea and vomiting
Flushed skin
Today, several devices can remind drivers that a child is in the rear of the car so they won't forget.
Here are some of the listed technologies:
Driver's Little Helper Sensor System: The Driver's Little Helper Sensor System, available at several major retailers, is designed to be placed in a car seat. Positioned under the seat padding where the child sits, the sensor connects to a battery pack and syncs with an app. Users can configure the app to send notifications after stopping the car, with intervals as short as one minute.
Waze: Waze, a popular traffic app, features a setting that reminds drivers to check their back seat upon reaching a destination entered into the app. However, it does not provide alerts for impromptu stops.
SensorSafe: SensorSafe, a technology featured in some Evenflo car seats, includes a receiver that plugs into your car's diagnostics port. This port inside the vehicle connects to various subsystems and allows small receivers to access the car's computer system. The receiver communicates with the car seat's smart chest clip, alerting the driver with a series of chimes if a child remains in the seat after the car is turned off.
Toyota Cabin Awareness: Toyota's Cabin Awareness is an advanced in-cabin monitoring system designed to prevent hot car fatalities, particularly for children and pets. This technology uses high-resolution 4D imaging radar to detect minute movements, such as heartbeats and respiration, covering the entire vehicle cabin, including the cargo area and footwells. The radar can even sense occupants under blankets or other coverings.
General Motor's Rear Seat Reminder System: This feature in certain GM vehicles uses sensors on the back doors that activate when the rear door is opened or closed within 10 minutes of the vehicle starting or while it is running. If these conditions are met, a reminder appears on the dashboard, accompanied by an audible chime, when you reach your destination.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 3 kids have died in hot cars in 2025. How to prevent during Texas heat
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