Raleigh County, WV (WOAY) – As temperatures start to warm up, the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program is reminding parents to be extra careful not to leave kids alone in hot cars.
Lieutenant Jamie Wilhite from the Beckley Police Department says that it’s an easy, absent-minded mistake to make, and it is important to pay attention.
Hot cars are the number one non-crash, vehicle-related death for kids under the age of 14.
On average, one child dies of heatstroke from being left in a hot car in the United States.
Internal temperatures in cars can climb quickly, rising up to 50 degrees warmer than the outside temperatures.
It’s also important to keep the car locked when you aren’t in it. Children who climb inside a parked car account for a quarter of hot car deaths.
Wilhite said anyone who sees a child unattended in a car should call police immediately. He said a broken window is an easy price to pay to save a life.
