Latest news with #NoHeatStroke
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Louisiana father who left 1-year-old daughter in hot car for over 9 hours faces murder charge: police
A Louisiana father was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly leaving his 21-month-old daughter inside a hot car for more than nine hours. Joseph Boatman, 32, of Hammond, was arrested Sunday after the child died outside a home in Madisonville, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. "Detectives with the STPSO Major Crimes Unit have learned that Boatman had strapped the toddler in her car seat inside the vehicle after picking her up from a family member's residence shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday," police said. "After strapping the toddler in her car seat, Boatman went back inside the residence and never returned to the vehicle. It was also learned that prior to Boatman arriving to pick up his daughter, he had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages," the sheriff's office added. Florida Woman Given Maximum Sentence In Death Of Second Grandchild Police say they responded to the home shortly before noon Sunday, "after a family member located the girl unresponsive inside the vehicle." Read On The Fox News App Temperatures in the area around that time were about 90 degrees. "This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face," St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement. "When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking." Child Hot Car Death Pushes Parents Who Lost Daughter To Sound Alarm About 'Preventable Tragedy' The website No Heat Stroke, which tracks the deaths of children inside hot cars in the U.S., said it was the fifth instance this year, following cases in New Mexico, California, Maryland and New Jersey. "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," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website. "In 2024, 39 children died of heatstroke in vehicles — up 35% from 2023." The NHTSA also says, "Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time," and, "Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle."Original article source: Louisiana father who left 1-year-old daughter in hot car for over 9 hours faces murder charge: police
International Business Times
3 days ago
- International Business Times
Louisiana Father Charged with Murder After Leaving 21-Month-Old Daughter in Hot Car for 9 Hours While Drunk
A Louisiana father has been charged with murdering his 21-month-old daughter, who reportedly died in a hot car on Sunday, June 8. Local news outlets reported that a family member discovered the girl after she was left in a parked car in Madisonville for nine hours. St. Tammany Parish police determined that the girl's father, Joseph Boatman, 35, arrived to pick her up from a relative's home, but he instead strapped her into a car seat and entered a nearby residence. Instead of removing her from the car upon arriving at the residence, he failed to return from the residence and left her in the car overnight. Boatman was charged with second-degree murder, as police believe he had several alcoholic drinks before picking up his daughter. It is unclear why Boatman strapped his daughter into the vehicle and then left. "The child was buckled in the car seat as best as they could tell around 2:30 in the morning on Sunday," she said. "Then a family member located her there around noon." The family member then called 911 after finding the child unresponsive. "This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face," Sheriff Randy Smith said. "When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking." Boatman's daughter is reportedly the fifth hot-car death this year. According to No Heat Stroke, 39 children died in hot cars in 2024. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office is expected to conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Baby in back? Ways to remind yourself that your child is buckled in the back seat
Summer is near, and temperatures will be rising, with heat intensifying faster inside a vehicle. If you have a baby or young child buckled in the back seat, this is a good time to find the best way to remind yourself that your precious cargo is strapped in behind you, especially if your vehicle doesn't have warning technology to alert you to check the back seat. Kids and Car Safety; the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offer some tips: Put the child's diaper bag or another item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is riding with you. Put something in the back seat (next to where the child is buckled) that you can't start your day without − your work badge, cellphone, laptop, purse or briefcase. Keep a stuffed animal or toy in the car seat and move it to the front passenger seat after you've buckled in the child in to remind you the child is riding with you. Write a note to remind yourself to check the back seat. Set an alarm on your cellphone or computer calendar, one that is different from all other alert sounds, to remind you to drop off your child at child care. Open the back door every time you park, and look around inside before you lock your vehicle. Announce and confirm who is getting each child out of the vehicle if you are riding with others. Ask your babysitter or child care provider to contact you if your child hasn't arrived as scheduled. If someone else is dropping off your child at child care, communicate with them that the drop-off was made. There have been at least 1,129 children who have died in hot vehicles in the U.S. since 1990, according to Kids and Car Safety, an advocacy group devoted to saving the lives of children and pets in and around vehicles. It indicates 7,500 more children survived being in a hot vehicle, with various degrees of injury, according to its website. Four children have died in hot vehicles this year, according to the group, with the latest being a 1-year-old boy in Albuquerque, N.M., on May 25. The other deaths were in New Jersey, Maryland and California, according to the website. In Michigan, there have been 13 hot car deaths involving children under age 14 from 1990-2024 and two prior to 1990, according to the group. In August, a 3-year-old boy died in Vicksburg in Kalamazoo County when his father left him in a vehicle. Several West Michigan television media reports indicate the man left his son in a rear-facing car seat in the driver's side back seat when he went to work. The reports indicate he dropped off his daughter at daycare, but forgot to drop off his son. He found the boy later that day after returning to his vehicle after a stop at a grocery store. He was charged, pleaded guilty and in March was sentenced to probation and a delayed jail sentence, according to the media reports. Kids and Car Safety indicates that in more than half of hot car deaths, the person responsible for the child unknowingly left them in the vehicle. The majority of children who died in a hot car death was age 3 or younger, according to the group. Having ways to remember to the check the back seat is important as Michigan's updated child passenger safety laws took effect April 2, with children needing to be secured in a car seat that is appropriate for their weight and height as indicated by the seat's manufacturer. All children under age 13 must ride in the rear seat, if the vehicle has one. More: Counterfeit automotive parts pour into U.S. and can be a 'direct risk to safety' Infants to children age 2 must be in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the maximum weight or height allowed by the seat's manufacturer or the child is 2 years old. Those age 2-5 can move into a forward-facing car seat until they reach the maximum weight or height allowed by the seat's manufacturer or the child is 5 years old. Those age 5-8 can move into a belt-positioning booster seat using a lap and shoulder belt until they are 4 feet, 9 inches tall or 8 years old. The National Weather Service indicates that the interior temperature of a vehicle can rise almost 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes, even with the windows cracked open. A child's body temperature rises three to five minutes faster than an adult's, so their temperature can rise quickly when left in a vehicle. Heat stroke begins when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees, and death occurs at a core body temperature of 107 degrees or above, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Contact Christina Hall: chall@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ways to remind yourself that your child is buckled in the back seat
