SAN DIEGO — Less than 10 days after a baby was found unresponsive and died after being left in a car unattended in Santee, local doctors are reminding everyone of the dangers of hot car deaths.
That's why Dr. Joelle Donofrio-Odmann, an attending pediatric ER doctor at Rady Children’s Hospital said it’s dangerous to leave kids in a car, even for a minute.
"Even in 80 degree weather, your car can go over 115 degrees,” Dr. Donofrio-Odmann said. "Especially the younger you are, the faster your metabolism and the faster you're prone to getting heat exhaustion, heat stroke, if that's not captured quickly, multi organ failure and death."
What is Kaitlyn's Law?
In the fall of 2001, Kaitlyn's Law was adopted in California.
It was named after Kaitlyn Marie Russell, a 6-month-old baby who died after being left in a hot car by her babysitter for two hours.
Local defense attorney, Gretchen von Helms explains the law as such:
"It's illegal to leave a child unattended in a car," she said. "No child can be left in a car. Even if you have the windows down. Even if you have the car running and the air conditioner running full blast, a child cannot be left in a car."
Two-month-old Diana Sofia Aleman Roman was found unconscious inside an SUV in Santee on June 13. Sheriff's deputies say the family had arrived home at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The baby wasn't discovered until after midnight Thursday morning, June 14.
"They could charge it as child endangerment. They could charge it under Kaitlyn's Law. Or they could also charge the parents with manslaughter which is the illegal, without malice, killing of another human being."
CBS 8 asked von Helms if the parents have to be charged in this case.
"No, the parents don't have to be charged and they may be grieving so much and going through the grieving process and so remorseful they may not ever be charged or they could be charged with a misdemeanor child endangerment."
Dr. Donofrio-Odmann says hot car deaths are preventable.
“Most, over 50% of heat deaths that we have in cars are by accident. Usually, they are parents who mean to drop their kids off at daycare or preschool, they put them in the car on the way to work and something happens and they get distracted and they forget."
Dr. Donofrio-Odmann also says kids and babies internal temperature rises 3-4 times faster than adults.
"Too much time in a hot car is deadly. Two hours in a hot car. Deadly. One hour? Deadly. If your kid has to go in the car seat, you have to put that stuffed animal in the seat next to you. So, if you look there and there's a stuffed animal in the front seat, that means you have a baby in your car seat and you have to take that baby out. Every time you leave your car, check the back seats. Always."
Here's more information on children left unattended in cars.
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