In response to a national call to action, the V.I. Police Department and the V.I. Office of Highway Safety are raising awareness about pediatric vehicular heatstroke.
Vehicular heatstroke is one of the leading causes of non-crash, vehicle-related death for children 14 and younger in the United States. Parents and caregivers who think child heatstroke deaths could “never” happen on their watch should think again. Tragically, “never” does happen, according to the press release.
Since 1998, when safety advocates first began tracking, vehicular heatstroke has killed more than 965 children. Each death was preventable:
- More than half (52.6 percent) of these tragedies occur when a child is “forgotten” by a
parent or caregiver and left in a hot car. A busy parent or caregiver may
unintentionally forget that a quiet or sleeping child is in the back of the vehicle. - More than half (58 percent) of these heatstroke deaths occur at a home.
- Nearly one-third of these tragedies occur with children under one year of age.
Internal vehicle temperatures rise quickly and become up to 50 degrees warmer than outside air temperatures. Even if it’s a cool day outside, a vehicle may still pose a threat to a child. A child’s body temperature increases three to five times faster than an adult’s, the press release stated.
In 2023, 29 children died due to vehicular heatstroke, a decrease from the 33 children who
died in 2022. The death rate has been lower in recent years. On average, 37 children die each year as a result of vehicular heatstroke. Although there have been no recent vehicular
heatstroke incidents in the territory, it is important to increase awareness to maintain zero
incidences, the release stated.
“We have to teach our children that the vehicle is not a playground and that playing in and
around the car is dangerous,” said VIOHS Director Daphne O’Neal. “On average, one child
dies from heatstroke every 10 days in the United States from being left in a car or crawling
into an unlocked vehicle. What is most tragic is that every single one of these deaths could
have been prevented.”
