Every summer, the headlines serve as a grim reminder: another child lost to the unbearable heat of a parked car. In 2025 alone, 15 youngsters have died this way, according to the National Safety Council. These tragedies are not confined to one state or one demographic — they can happen to anyone, anywhere. Since 1998, 20 Arkansas children have died in hot cars, and each death represents a preventable heartbreak.
As the temps climb, so do the risks.
“Children, especially very young children, are in danger of heat stroke or death when left in a hot car for even a brief period of time,” said Brittney Schrick, a family life specialist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
And it can happen so quickly. Ten to 15 minutes in the searing heat — the kind we have been experiencing — can be fatal.
Bad adults? Well, there were the two men who left a 4-month-old and a 16-month-old locked in a car while they searched for arrowheads and mushrooms a short distance away. The children died. It’s not a stretch to say that those deaths were related to unforgivably irresponsible actions.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
But most of these occurrences happen to caring parents, grandparents, and relatives caught in an unfamiliar routine. Like the Arkansas circuit judge who left his child in the car some years ago and the child died.
It can be as innocent as taking a child to daycare when you’re not the usual drop-off parent or having a grandchild in the car during a summer visit.
The demands of life can create the perfect storm for tragedy. Rear-facing car seats block the view of the child. A sleeping baby makes no sound. A quick stop at the grocery store turns into an errand that’s too long. The unthinkable happens faster than any of us would like to believe because that’s how quickly the inside of vehicles can heat up.
The answer? Look before you lock. And then there’s lock before you leave. Unsupervised children can easily climb into an unlocked vehicle, becoming trapped in a deadly oven with no way out. Locking your car doors, even in your driveway, can be the simple act that saves a life.
No errand is worth a child’s life. No lapse in memory should be allowed to become a horrific death. Use reminders, such as leaving your mobile phone or purse in the backseat — because as odd as it sounds, while a distracted mind might forget a child, cell phones are rarely far from a person’s grasp no matter what is going on in the world. And in the end, make it a point to double-check before locking your vehicle.
These are 100% preventable deaths. Good adults or bad, the key is to assume this could actually happen to you and then to take steps to make sure it doesn’t. One life lost is one too many.