(Click on the image for the Consumer Reports article)
By far, the biggest factor is parents and caregivers who unknowingly leave a child behind in a car. Of the cases reported in 2018 and 2019, 44 (where circumstances are known) involve someone unknowingly leaving a child behind. The reasons for that include everything from a disrupted routine—a very common explanation—to family members thinking someone else had brought the baby inside at the end of a trip.
There are other findings from the data, as of Sept. 9:
- 69 of the victims were 2 years old or younger.
- The average age of the victims was 23 months old.
- The recorded high temperatures on the days when these events occurred ranged from 69 degrees to 108 degrees.
- They happened in 27 states, from as far south as Florida to as far north as Montana.
- Texas led all states with 10 deaths, followed by Florida with nine and South Carolina with eight.
- In 75 cases, it was a parent, grandparent, or another family member who was responsible for the incident; daycare workers were involved in three cases.