Author: Marianne Halterman

From Panama City News Herald – 9/21/2015

© Copyright 2015 Gatehouse Media, Inc.

HOLMES COUNTY – A 9-year-old Bonifay boy was killed after the four-wheeler he was driving collided with a utility vehicle in Holmes County [Florida] Sunday afternoon.

For full story please see www.newsherald.com/article/20150920/NEWS/150929979

Boyfriend of ‘Baby Doe’s’ mother held without bail; mom’s bail set at $1M

(CNN)Little Bella Bond was allegedly killed by her mother’s boyfriend because he thought she was possessed and “it was her time to die,” a prosecutor told a judge at a Monday bail hearing.

See story at www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/us/boston-baby-doe-charges/.

Yesterday, a 4-month-old child died in a hot car in Corpus Christi, Texas. This is the 20th heatstroke death of the year and the 5th in Texas.

The boy’s 16-month-old sister was also left in the car, but she has survived. The two children were forgotten in the car by their father, with temperatures around 89 degrees.

Here is the full article:

http://www.caller.com/news/local/police-respond-to-child-left-in-vehicle-1f3d342b-0d3e-2f96-e053-0100007ff10a-325747961.html

It has been a sad week, with two heatstroke deaths so far. It is a tragic reminder that although the summer season is officially over, temperatures remain high for weeks to come, and therefore heatstroke is still a threat to young children. Thank you for continuously pushing out heatstroke messaging throughout the fall.

The recent AP report¹ told of an accidental childhood death that should not have happened.  Noah Thomas was five years old and would have been entering first grade this week… if he were still alive.  His parents are in jail without bond for felony child neglect. Noah’s body was found, fully clothed, in a septic tank near their home in Pulaski County. The coroner’s office says Noah died March 26, 2015.  A homicide charge against the mother has been dropped. The cause of death is currently listed as “undetermined”. Hypothermia contributed to the little boy’s death.

Unintentional injury is still the leading cause of deaths in children, ages 1 through 14 (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.). Fourteen children have died in “hot car” deaths in the U.S. so far this year. There seems to be a trend today of parents and caregivers who are so busy or so oblivious that they forget their kids. Then there are people who don’t know how to care for young children. I do not understand when there are many ways of contraception, why people who don’t really want to take responsibility for raising children, have children at all. It has been indicated in the literature that offspring of teen mothers often become abused or neglected because the parents don’t know how to care for them.²

Alerting young parents to raise children safely and healthfully is a daunting task. In 2003, the death of an 8-year old boy here in the Valley made an impression on me. This child suffered severe diarrhea, but his parents did not know how to care or what to do for him. He had been taken to the emergency room at least once. He was found in the shower where he had been trying to wash himself when he died. He was alone. Please ask yourselves, what these examples say about the state of child safety. Could these childhood deaths have been prevented?
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¹ “Medical Examiner Says Boy Drowned”, Associated Press, The Daily News Record, August 13, 2015, p. B3
² Teen Parent Child Care Quality Improvement Project, Florida State University, Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, 4/15/2005

July 30, 2015 – A child was left in a hot car and was rescued by a Bergen County Sheriff’s officer. Reports indicate the mother has been charged with child endangerment. YouTube video:

It bothers me–and it should bother everyone–that children are left in cars at all… especially when the weather is warm. Or, as it must have been yesterday in Joliet, Illinois, hot, in the mid-80s–when a woman thought her 7-month old baby boy was with her baby’s father.  The woman was in a meeting for two hours and did not answer her cell phone.  According to accounts on the local news stations, her boyfriend had called her concerned about where the baby was…  When she realized that the baby could be in the car, she immediately went to her car hoping to rescue her child. The SUV’s windows had been rolled up and the doors were locked for approximately 2 hours. The baby who was found unresponsive is in critical care in hospital.  The child’s internal temperature was 107 degrees when the paramedics arrived. That’s the story. (abc7chicagonews.com, July 28, 2015)

I am sorry for the parents of that child. This is a tragedy that was not supposed to happen. Even if that child survives this experience, there may be physical deficits, such as brain damage… who knows? And who knows if charges of child neglect will be brought? Who knows?

Perhaps the public service announcement that hammered our television screens and radio channels in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, ought to be brought back to life, because it’s apparent people need re-educating. The old PSA asking, “It’s 10 p.m., Do you know where your children are?” ought to be re-broadcast in a different fashion, “It’s hot out! Are you in your car, and do you know where your children are?” Maybe that would get people’s attention from whatever is going on so they could count precious noses…

There have been at least 7 hot car childhood deaths this spring-summer season in 2015–and although it seems to be unintentional, there’s no excuse for this kind of harm coming to a child in a parent’s or guardian’s care.  None..  You simply cannot FORGET your child.  Not if you are conscious.

Please tell me what is more important than your child’s wellbeing! Certainly not your best friend’s cell phone text message…  or whether or not you get a loan on your home… or whether or not you have a successful job interview or a hair appointment… All of that can wait when you stack it against your child’s welfare.

It just doesn’t wash, folks.

The summer is heating up and NHTSA’s heatstroke prevention and awareness efforts are in full swing. This marks the fourth summer that NHTSA has spread awareness about the dangers of child heatstroke in hot cars, while urging parents and caregivers to think, “Where’s Baby? Look Before You Lock.”

Already, nine children this year and more than 30 children in 2014 lost their lives from heatstroke after adults left them in unattended vehicles. Heatstroke tragedies are 100-percent preventable, which is why we are looking for every opportunity to educate consumers on the importance of making sure that children are neither unintentionally locked in, nor able to gain access to (and become trapped in) unattended vehicles.

We are asking our highway traffic safety partners to ramp up activities this summer to augment the national effort. NHTSA is offering tools to assist you in communicating with the public. The 2015 campaign “Act Fast. Save a Life.” includes resources and tips on what bystanders should do if they see a young child locked in a parked car.

NHTSA is also asking our safety partners to help raise awareness about the dangers of kids and cars on July 31, National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Every hour on the hour starting at 7 a.m. EST @NHTSAgov will be using the hashtags #heatstrokekills and #checkforbaby on all its social media posts. Please join us in the concerted day-long social media conversation.

For more information, please see http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/newtsm/heatstroke/11713-HeatstrokeCommMemo-july2015.pdf