3-Year-Old Tragically Dies After ‘Distracted’ Dad Forgot About Her in Hot Car

Few can imagine forgetting about their children. However, life gets chaotic, and people can become scatterbrained or derailed. As such, people have forgotten their children in the back of a hot car, and these accidents have ended in fatality. With Summer here, here’s a reminder to use caution with children in hot cars.

A Hot Car May Be Fatal

Summer is here and is accompanied by increasing temperatures, particularly as the climate changes, bringing new record temperatures each year. People are reminded not to leave their furry friends in the hot car. Yet they still do. What’s worse, parents leave their kids in a hot car. While most might feel that a reminder is unnecessary, as many can’t imagine forgetting their children, people become distracted and accidents happen. For example, in 2019, a 3-year-old girl was left in a hot car in the Arizona sun. Sadly, she perished, but the events prompted her family to share their story.

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Going for a Ride

Charlotte Jones went with her dad, Scott, to take her two sisters to school in early September 2019. However, their routine was different as Scott and his wife Angela had decided to keep Charlotte home from preschool that week. As such, he returned home from dropping the older girls off at school and began work, per his usual routine.

Change in Routine

Unfortunately, amid his normal routine, Scott had forgotten to take Charlotte out of the hot car, only realizing it when Angela called check-in around lunchtime, 3-4 hours later. Scott recognized his error, ran out to the hot car, and contacted emergency responders. However, the 98F+ temperatures were more than her little body could handle, and she had already passed when the emergency team arrived.

Angela commented on the events, recalling when her husband realized his mistake. “And then all of a sudden I could just hear a panic in his voice. I initially thought she had gotten into the pool or something like that, and then he was like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t think I ever got her out of the car.’” She said. “Then it hit him, what was happening and he ran out into the driveway.”

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Honoring Charlotte’s Memory

The events left the family wounded but they continue to “honor her memory.” Angela told Fox News Digital. “She was our sassy one, the funny one, always making funny faces, our little ham. She was just the light in our family, and we are constantly talking about her.” Angela said of the young girl. As a result of the family’s tragedy, Angela has issued a warning, urging other families to be “vigilant”, ensuring they don’t leave their kids in a hot car.

Hot Car Mistakes

Unfortunately, stories like this are alarmingly more common than people might realize. According to Janette Fennel, the founder of Kids and Cars Safety, one of the most common reasons a parent may accidentally leave their kids in a hot car is because younger children in the U.S. are required by law to be in rear-facing car seats. Although this does ensure safety, the drawback is that parents can’t always see their kids from this angle. As such, they may not register there is a person in the backseat, particularly if the child has fallen asleep or is quiet.

Janette ran some numbers, noting more than 1,000 hot-car-related deaths took place between 1990 and 2023. While some parents can’t imagine leaving their child in a hot car, no parent sets out with the intent to damage their children. Everyone is doing their best to balance work, family, and everything else life throws their way. With that in mind, Fennell explains that in most cases leaving a child in the hot car was “accidental.” “The biggest mistake anyone can ever make is to think that it can’t happen to them or someone in their family because we work very closely with these families, and many of them will admit to us that’s what they thought before it happened to them,” she said. “And it’s not about good or bad parenting. 90 percent of the incidents are good parents and they certainly would never even harm a hair on their head.”

Preventing Death from a Hot Car

Her findings led to a notable correlation between loving parents and a momentary lapse of judgment. Although the consequences of mistakes range in severity, no one is immune to never making a poor choice or having a moment of forgetfulness. Therefore, it’s important to stay vigilant, particularly during the Summer. Here are some tips to prevent forgetting your child in a hot car.

• ACT
• Use Features and Resources
• Call the Daycare

ACT

The first step to preventing an accident is to take preventative measures. For example, the acronym ACT encourages parents to Avoid doing things that may lead to a child being left in a hot car. And to Create reminders. Lastly, Take action.

A is for Avoid. Parents may leave their kids in the car to run into the grocery store to pick something up for dinner or go inside to pay for gas. However, distractions and long lines sometimes make those trips longer than expected. Therefore, the best way to ensure you never accidentally leave your child in the hot car is to always take them in and out, no matter where you go. Or how quick you think you’ll be.

C is for Create. “Create reminders” such as putting everything like your phone, wallet, groceries, or purse in the backseat so you’ll have to double-check it before going in the house.

T is for Take Action. Notify authorities whenever you see a child left unattended in a hot car so they can assess and properly handle the situation.

Noise Reminders

Fortunately, a few more resources are available to parents to help ensure no child is ever left unattended in a hot car. For example, many newer vehicles and car seats have sensors to remind parents when their child is in the backseat. Additionally, keyless ignitions allow parents to leave their car running with the A/C on. However, that’s only acceptable in some circumstances as car theft and child abduction are also possibilities. Lastly, calling your child’s daycare if your partner dropped them off is another great way to ensure they’re at school and safe.

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