Both A Baby And A Toddler Died In Texas Hot Cars This Week

It was a blisteringly hot week in Texas, with some areas breaking all-time temperature records.

Tragically, the heat combined with negligence claimed the lives of both an infant and a toddler in Texas this week. One woman was charged and another is expected to be soon in two separate hot car death incidents.

Hilda Ann Adame, the mother of a 22-month-old was arrested and charged with, "injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and abandonment/endangerment of a child resulting in imminent bodily injury."

Corpus Christi police responded to a call that the toddler was alone in a hot car outside a Middle School and was pronounced dead at a hospital, despite the heroic efforts of a school nurse who performed CPR on the child.

Less than a day later, a grandmother left a 9-month-old infant in a car for several hours. She called the police herself after discovering the child was unresponsive. The baby was declared dead and the woman is expected to receive criminal charges soon.

Texas leads the nation in child hot car deaths. And every single one of these deaths was preventable.  Simply saying, "I would never do that," will not solve the problem, but implementing good habits and maintaining vigilance will.

Parents, guardians, and babysitters should keep a toy or stuffed animal in the passenger seat so they will remember the child in the back, or always check the back seat every time they exit the vehicle, regardless if the child is with them or not.

Another good habit is to keep essentials in the back seat next to the child, like your purse or wallet.

It is also a good idea to never take a phone call when a child is in the back seat, many hot car deaths happen because the guardian took a phone call which made them forget the child in the backseat.

And no guardian should ever leave a child alone in a car, even for just a few minutes. It's incredibly dangerous in more ways than one.

For a deeper look into why hot car deaths happen so often in Texas, and more tips and tricks to prevent them, read more here.