South Carolina tops 2018 list for most children dying from being left in hot cars

Deaths caused by children being left in hot cars peak in July, experts say. For 2018, South Carolina tops the national list in the number of kids who have died from this preventable cause.

Just two days before Father’s Day, 18-month-old King Trammel died after being left in a car. The young boy’s death brought the total number of children killed by the heat in a closed car to three, according to data compiled by KidsAndCars.org.

Investigators with the Spartanburg Police Department, State Law Enforcement Division and the coroner’s office determined the toddler was left alone in a vehicle while his parents were inside the home, according to FOX Carolina. The boy’s father, Aaron Tazhon Trammel, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect of a child or helpless person, according to Spartanburg County jail records.

While some states have two deaths, Texas had its third fatal incident on Thursday, tying South Carolina.

Lee Penny of Safe Kids Upstate told the Greenville News that heatstrokes often happen in families with multiple caregivers. And according to a story by Bonnie Petrie of Texas Public Radio, leaving a child in a car doesn’t depend on the kind of parent a person is. It’s a simple matter of the brain’s limitation.

“The kids are obviously the most important thing going on in the car, right? But other things capture our attention very easily, and attention doesn’t necessarily know what’s important,” psychologist Edward Golob told TPR. “If you’re really focused on something, if you’re feeling a little stress — you can easily make these sorts of mistakes.”

Other unintended incidents could cause a child to be trapped in a car as well. Jojo Nix, 18 months old, was inside a parked vehicle on May 31 at his grandmother’s home in Greenville, the Greenville News reported. When his grandmother suffered a medical complication, she was unable to get Jojo out of the car. The young child died of a heatstroke. He had just learned how to say “love you, mama,” his mother told the Greenville News.

In 2017, the HOT CARS Act was introduce into the U.S. Senate. The bill would require auto manufacturers to equip vehicles with an alert system to let drivers know that a car seat is in the car, similar to an alert when the car lights are left on. . The bill is still in committee.

Such an alarm might have prevented the death of 10-month-old Jack Duggan. He was left in a car when his father forgot to drop off the boy at day care while on his way to work, the Post and Courier reported in May. The death was ruled an accident.

Until the passage of the legislation requiring an alert system or standardization of such an alarm, Penny from Safe Kids Upstate says her organization teaches people a three-step acronym, ACT, to help prevent a fatal incident, according to the Greenville News.

A — Avoid leaving a child in a car for any amount of time, and avoid allowing children to play in the vehicle or to think of a car as a play space.

C — Create a reminder that the child is in the back seat, like putting the keys under the infant carrier, shoes behind the seat or stuffed animal in the front seat. Cellphone apps exist that remind parents to check for babies, Penny said. It’s also wise to talk to child care providers and have them call you if your child didn’t arrive on time.

T — Take action if you see a child in a car by calling 911 and staying on the phone by the car until help arrives, Penny said. In numerous cases, people have reported a child in a car to a store clerk who said promised to call authorities, but never did, she said.

This story was originally published July 21, 2018 at 4:23 PM.