Arizona girl, 2, left in car by father on 109-degree day and is found dead

[Tower]

At first I thought, how dumb that cars shut off automatically, for emergency situations like this. What if someone were to accidentally lock a child or pet inside, and it takes a while to get help or break a window?

But then when looking up info about these features, I realized they’re probably in place to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

I wonder which way would save more lives.

It’s a very interesting question, but I have heard of cars being accidentally left on inside the garage and slowly poisoning people inside the house. If you accidentally locked a baby or pet inside, presumably you’d call for help and try to break the window. 20 minutes would be plenty of time. Unless you’re doing something deliberately stupid and unsafe like this father. The car is only protecting you against accidents, not deliberate acts.

 

[ErinC]

Dozens of Kids Die in Hot Cars Every Year: How Good Intentions and Faulty Memory Can Create Disaster

On average, nearly 40 children die in hot cars every year – and while many assume this kind of tragedy can only happen to “bad” parents, experts explain to PEOPLE how stress and sleep factors can wreak havoc on memory and lead to disaster.

people.com

I remember reading about this car death case when it happened. Dad accidentally left toddler in car when he went to work. As soon as he found the baby, he ended his life.

Tragic story. Obviously one of the hundreds we read about. I find his reaction more understandable than texting my spouse saying Sorry Babe.”

I agree- this poor gentleman, I truly believe forgot. His reaction is IMO far more along the lines of what one would expect. Even if a parent didn't commit suicide, I would expect them to be a complete basket case. Not "Sorry babe, but you did the same thing too you know!" I know that not everyone responds in the same way to similar situations, but there's a point where that just doesn't cover the situation at hand.

 

[airportwoman]

It’s a very interesting question, but I have heard of cars being accidentally left on inside the garage and slowly poisoning people inside the house. If you accidentally locked a baby or pet inside, presumably you’d call for help and try to break the window. 20 minutes would be plenty of time. Unless you’re doing something deliberately stupid and unsafe like this father. The car is only protecting you against accidents, not deliberate acts.

There was a case like that in my region some years back. ISTR that a van was parked in an attached garage, and was left running because some people were listening to a CD. (Like I said, it was a while back.) Seven people died; the 23-year-old mother of the two children who died (and a third who was elsewhere) was also a widow, although she and her husband were separated at the time of his death just months earlier.

Coroner: Carbon monoxide caused 7 deaths

Preliminary autopsy results showed that the seven people found dead inside a duplex apartment in Kirksville, Mo., over the weekend suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, the coroner said Tuesday.

www.nbcnews.com

There was another case from the region, more recent, where a father, also separated, was found in a car with his two young children, all deceased, but the wife said he was a very severe Type 1 diabetic and probably passed out due to low blood sugar. Apparently the autopsy backed this up; the children weren't old enough to let themselves out, go inside, and call 911.