At least 30 times every year, a child is left in a hot car in the U.S., vulnerable to heatstroke and damage to organs faster than you might realize.
"The temperature in a car can exceed 130, to even as much as 170 degrees, in a relatively short time," said Dr. Tom Nowicki of Hartford Hospital. "In as little as 15 to 30 minutes, that temp elevates."
Hartford Hospital uses simulators in training how to handle symptoms of heatstroke.
"The body starts out trying to respond to the heat by sweating, the blood circulation in the skin increases, the heart rate increases, we can quickly develop symptoms of heat related illness like heavy muscle cramping, nausea, even confusion and unconsciousness," Nowicki said.
It went beyond that July 7, 2014, for 15-month-old Benjamin Seitz, whose father forgot to drop him off at child care and went to his office in Ridgefield, leaving the boy strapped into his car seat. Kyle Seitz was convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
For national heatstroke prevention day in Washington, Reginald McKinnon explained what he goes through whenever he hears someone else did what he did and left a child in a hot car.
"It can really destroy a family. To me, it's really painful," he said.
