JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, local child safety advocates and other community members gathered on Thursday morning at a Jacksonville child care facility to mark National Heatstroke Prevention Day.
At the event, officials and community leaders highlighted the dangers of leaving children in hot cars and shared prevention tips.
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“We are entering the most dangerous months. Please do not allow for an avoidable tragedy,” Waters said.
The message from Thursday’s speakers was clear: This can happen to anyone.
“These tragedies tend to occur by accident,” Brian Gilligan, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist at Wolfson Children’s Hospital said. “More than half the time, it’s a caregiver who was distracted, maybe out of their typical routine.”
However, advocates also said that these tragedies are preventable.
“Look before you lock. Never leave a child alone in a car. Lock your doors and keep your keys and key fobs out of the reach of kids and please ask your neighbors to do the same,” Torine Creppy, President of Safe Kids Worldwide, said.
The event also featured Makia Wallace, a Florida parent who lost her child in a hot vehicle in September 2020.
“The pain I endured has given me a greater purpose for living and now, I am passionate about sharing my story to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to other families,” Wallace said.
Press play below to watch Wallace tell her story
An average of 37 children die in hot cars every year, according to Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.
According to a release, since 1990, at least 122 children have died after being left alone in a hot car in Florida, the second highest in the nation behind Texas. In more than half of the cases, the caregiver forgot the child was in the car.