Summer heat poses deadly risk for children left in vehicles

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- One of the most serious heat-related dangers during the summer is leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.

According to the National Weather Service, more than 900 children have died in hot vehicles since 1998. The National Safety Council reports 10 child hot-car deaths so far in 2026.

When the outside temperature is 80 degrees, the temperature inside a vehicle can climb to 99 degrees in just 10 minutes.

Frank Till, executive director of the St. Joseph Safety and Health Council, said even on a 70-degree day, the car can rise to dangerous temperatures.

"It's just very dangerous to leave a child in that aspect," he said. "The other aspect is simply to leave a child in the car; it's a good opportunity for someone to grab that child. It just takes a second to break out that window and take your child out of the car."

Cracking the window while the child is in the vehicle doesn't help.

"It does nothing in these kinds of temperatures to keep the greenhouse condition from occurring in a car and the temperatures rising so rapidly," Till said.

Till said to call 911 immediately if a child is witnessed to be in the car alone.

"Try to make contact with that child, to see if they're okay. I wouldn't immediately jump into breaking someone's window out," Till said. "If you see a child in distress, and you know they are really in distressed and you feel that it is worth that risk to break out that window, by all means, it has to be a personal decision."

A common mistake is leaving a child in a vehicle because people think they'll only be gone for a few minutes.

"In 10 minutes, the temperature increase can happen very quickly in a car. To leave a child in a car unattended is an incredible opportunity for a predator to abduct your child," Till said. "It's best to take that extra few seconds and take your child with you."

In Missouri, leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle can also come with penalties, according to a Missouri statute. If the offense is in the first degree, the act is a class C felony. If the offense is in the second degree, the act is a class A misdemeanor.