GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is warning people to not leave their children in a hot car as summer approaches.
The administration is reminding people to check their backseats before they leave their car and to keep their keys out of children’s reach.
Officials said that it only takes 10 minutes for a car’s temperature to heat up more than 20 degrees and that it makes it hot enough to kill a child. They added that they have already had multiple hot car deaths this year.
“We see these tragic deaths every year. Children left in hot cars. Children’s bodies heat up faster than adults, they can’t handle the temperatures in the vehicles as well as adults,” said Robert Ritter, the NHTSA Office of Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection director.
If you see a child in distress, the NHTSA urges you to call 911 immediately.
