Texas health officials are urging adults to avoid leaving children in parked cars after four child deaths from heatstroke occurred in the state within two weeks. This recent number exceeds the total of three hot car deaths reported statewide during all of 2024.
The Texas Heatstroke Taskforce reports that, as of July 9, there have been 15 hot car deaths involving children across the United States this year.
“The heatstroke death of a child is a tragedy too often repeated in our state,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer A. Shuford, MD, MPH. “The temperature inside a vehicle can rise nearly 20 degrees in 10 minutes, and heatstroke will occur when a child’s body can’t cool itself quickly enough. Children – and pets – should never be left in the car for any length of time.”
Heatstroke suffered while trapped in a parked car is now the second-leading cause of vehicle-related fatalities among children under age 15, following only traffic crashes. Causes include caregivers forgetting children in vehicles, children entering unlocked cars on their own and being unable to get out, or caregivers intentionally leaving children behind without realizing how quickly temperatures rise inside vehicles. The department warns that cracking windows does not prevent dangerous temperature increases.
To reduce risk, the Texas Department of State Health Services advises never leaving a child alone in a vehicle—even if it is running with air conditioning—and always checking the back seat before exiting. Caregivers are encouraged to use reminders such as placing essential items like purses or phones next to children’s seats and keeping vehicles locked at all times with keys out of reach from children. If a child goes missing, families are urged to check water sources first and then search vehicles including trunks. Witnesses who see an unattended child around or inside a car should call 9-1-1 immediately.
More information and resources are available from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
