I lied, this is my last post on the subject.... Granted this article is from 2004, the information still holds today....
This is from the State of NJ website so it's not made up.
Fact Sheet:
• When the temperature outside is in the 90's, a closed automobile can heat up to 125 degrees in 10 minutes.
• At a body temperature between 103 and 105 degrees, both children and adults will show significant signs of heat-related stress.
• A body temperature of 105 degrees or above can be life threatening.
• Heat stroke can lead to permanent brain damage or death in a matter of minutes.
• According to the nonprofit group KIDS IN CARS which monitors media reports of children being left in cars,
already this year – 2004 - there have been 78 incidents involving 100 children nationwide who have been left unattended in or around cars, resulting, in 20 deaths. The infant death in Lakewood , New Jersey on May 20 th makes that total
21 deaths nationally in less than half a year.
• In 2003, Kids In Cars tracked incidents with children left unattended in or around vehicles at 563 incidents involving 696 kids, with 130 fatalities nationally.
• Each summer, the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) receives several referrals of children being left unattended in cars, all across the state.
• There were two child deaths in East Orange , New Jersey last summer of 2003. The father of the two young boys pleaded guilty on May 25, 2004 , to involuntary manslaughter for causing their deaths by leaving them inside a vehicle in 90-degree heat.
• In early July, 2002, a three-year old was left unattended in a parking lot in Franklin Township , Hunterdon County
• Three people with developmental disabilities required medical treatment in early summer of 2002, after they were left unattended in a van parked outside a shopping center in Edison .
• In 2002, Kids In Cars reported 434 incidents involving 591 children left unattended in or around vehicles, resulting in 115 deaths nationally.
• In 2001, Kids In Cars reported 503 children being left alone with 104 deaths; at least 35 of these were the result of children being left in hot cars.
• In the summer of 2000, a mother left her one-year old in a car in Newton , Sussex County.
• In 1998, a mother in Lakewood left her baby unattended in a car and the baby died.
•
If you see a child or a person with disabilities left alone in a car, report it immediately to store personnel, the police, or DYFS at 1-800-792-8610.
• NOTE: Currently no Federal of State agency is collecting information related to deaths and injuries that occur as non-traffic incidents on public or private property.
So you see, Scott's math was correct, I was right in thinking how hot it must have been inside that car, and I was right to call 911. I may have prevented a serious illness or death by doing what I did and I'm proud to have done it!
