CBS Dallas reported that a Fort Worth man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly leaving his five children in a parked vehicle with the engine running but without air conditioning.
Officers discovered Jose Leal, 29, in the front yard of a residence about 8 p.m., with his five children, ages 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, in the vehicle nearby.
Several were dozing or unconscious when cops extracted them from the vehicle. They quickly put them into police vehicles with air conditioning.
On Sunday, high temperatures reached 99 degrees. The police did not specify how long the youngsters were left in the vehicle alone. The Fort Worth ambulance service MedStar decided that the youngsters were suffering from heat exhaustion and required hospitalization. Their status was unknown.
The repercussions of leaving a youngster in a hot vehicle, according to first responders, might be catastrophic or even fatal.
“In temperatures like we’re seeing right now in North Texas, the inside of a car may reach 140 to 150 degrees in a matter of minutes,” said Matt Zavadsky of MedStar. “A child’s key organs, like the brain, heart, and kidneys, cannot operate at that temperature.”
Since May 1, workers from MedStar have treated fourteen patients discovered in hot automobiles within their service area in Tarrant County. All were under six years old.
“We’ve had kids who have been left in shopping center parking lots,” Zavadsky added. Children have gotten inside unlocked vehicles without their parents’ knowledge.
According to statistics from MedStar, this year has shown a considerable increase in these events.
“We’ve always questioned why there’s been such an increase, and we believe it’s because a lot of people have migrated here who aren’t accustomed to this sort of heat, possibly because where they came from wasn’t as hot,” he added. “Today’s parents are very preoccupied,”
Leal was sent to prison on five charges of abandonment/child endangerment/bodily harm.
Advice from MedStar to keep children safe:
• Establish a reminder to inspect the rear seat.
• Place an item, such as your cell phone, purse, employee identification card, briefcase, etc., in the back seat so that you must open the rear door every time you park to collect it.
• Keep a huge plush animal in the vehicle seat of the youngster. When installing the child’s car seat, place the plush animal in the front passenger seat. It serves as a visible reminder that the youngster is seated in the rear seat.
• Keep vehicle keys and remote openers out of reach of young children.
• If you see a youngster alone in a car, you should intervene. Please dial 911 immediately. If the youngster seems overheated or ill, remove them from the car as soon as possible.
“These things can happen to anybody, so following these recommendations is essential, regardless of who you are, how amazing a parent, grandmother, or caregiver you are,” Zavadsky said. These easy measures will avoid us from having to reply to this sort of call.