As a Chicago personal injury attorney, I am saddened by this story, and hopeful that the dim statistics will change in the future. Despite “repeated efforts to alert parents and caretakers about the dangers of leaving children and infants in automobiles on even moderately warm days,” heat stroke deaths continue in distressingly large numbers. (P. Stenquist, NY Times Wheels, 12/22).
Safety advocacy group KidsAndCars.org, reported 49 vehicular heatstroke deaths this year in the United States. Sadly, this is a record high number. The deaths occurred in two primary situations: first, when children were left inadvertently in parked cars; and when children played in unlocked cars. The dangerous of unlocked cars have certainly been underestimated.
As a car and truck accident lawyer, I join KidsandCars.org in urging the legislature to take action and encouraging parents and other caregivers to be extraordinarily careful.
