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Twelve children have died this year alone after their parents left them in a car that became overheated by the sun. One woman shared with us her story of guilt that she lives with since her baby died in a hot car.
July is the deadliest month of the year when it comes to kids being trapped in cars. Like Lyn Balfour, no parent thinks they can forget their child. Balfour left her 9-month-old son, Bryce, in her car for seven hours. She was carpooling that week, a change in her routine, and forgot to drop him at daycare.
"All you have to do is have one day where your routine is changed and something that throws a monkey wrench in it, and you could be sitting in the same position that I was sitting in," Balfour said.
She was charged with second degree murder but was ultimately acquitted after a jury determined that what happened to Bryce was no more than a horrible accident.
"You know, a lot of people were worried if I was convicted to going to prison, how I was going to handle that. And I was not worried about me at all because I am in hell every day. I look at my son's pictures and know that he's not here, and I am responsible for his death."
On average, a child dies every 10 days, succumbing to hyperthermia after being left in a hot car. It takes only 10 to 15 minutes for a child to get lethally hot, and doctors say once that happens it can be irreversible.
It takes just minutes for a car to heat to dangerous levels. We tested that fact with a minivan in 80 degree weather. In just 15 minutes the minivan went from 80 degrees to 100 degrees inside.
Devices exist to keep kids from dying in cars, but few are sold. We found a Web site that lists some of that technology and offers other information. Click on the related link to learn more.
E-mail: tpapanikolas@ksl.com
