More Kids Dying in Overheated Cars, Experts Warn

On Monday, 2-year-old Hunter Iles was playing with friends outside his family's Hineston, Ala. home, when he climbed inside his parent's parked car.

Hours later, Hunter was pronounced dead at a local hospital -- the eighth child this month alone to die after being trapped in a locked, overheated car.

Now, a researcher at San Francisco State University is warning that this year sets to top previous fatality records, with July -- typically the deadliest month for children trapped in sweltering cars -- still looming.

What's the latest data?

Jan Null, a meteorologist at SFSU, has been keeping tabs on the data for decades, usually relying on media reports of hyperthermia fatalities.

2005 was a record year for the tragic incidents, with 47 deaths -- 12 of which occurred through June. But already this year, 18 kids have died.

Why are kids at risk?

Obviously, infants and toddlers are vulnerable to being forgotten by parents or guardians. But they're also apt to climb inside a car when left unsupervised, and then get trapped.

And the physiology of a young child's body poses an additional risk -- their circulatory and respiratory systems can't cope with extreme heat the same way those of an adult can.

Ironically, more kids only started dying in the 1990s, after federal officials warned of the dangers of placing tots in the passenger seat. With children relegated to the back, it became more common for parents to forget them.

Isn't this a parenting no-brainer?

Not even close. In a Washington Post feature on the phenomenon, Gene Weingarten explains just how easy it is for a conscientious parent to make a momentary -- but fatal -- lapse.

"An otherwise loving and attentive parent one day gets busy, or distracted, or upset, or confused by a change in his or her daily routine, and just... forgets a child is in the car," he writes.

David Diamond, a professor of molecular physiology who specializes in memory, thinks a shakeup to the delegation of daily duties can turn deadly.

"The important factors that keep showing up involve a combination of stress, emotion, lack of sleep and change in routine," he said.

"These really are good parents who love these kids who make a mistake that turns out to be fatal," concurs David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

How can I prevent it?

Turning simple checks, like scanning the backseat of the car each time you get out, into routine. And do a phone check-in with your partner, to make sure a child was safely dropped off at daycare.

The NHTSA also suggests that parents leave reminders, like notes on a car window, to indicate that a child is inside. Or make it a habit of putting your briefcase in the back seat.

Beyond that, it's largely a matter of supervision and teaching kids that cars aren't for playing -- even leaving a child near a car that's turned on, with windows down, can be a risk.