Leaving a child, senior or pet behind in a car can pose serious danger, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
That was the message of the hot car safety event hosted by Ellen Walston, Injury Prevention Program coordinator at ECU Health Medical Center, along with the Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children, Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Safe Kids North Carolina and Greenville Fire Rescue.
Walston said it’s dangerous for anyone to be left alone in a vehicle because of how quickly they can heat up, especially for children.
On June 29, Walston and community partners shared the information in the parking lot of Kohl’s in Greenville. During a somewhat overcast afternoon with temperatures around 90 degrees, it took about 15 minutes for the display car on hand to reach 123 degrees inside.
“Our campaign is never leave your child alone, not even for one minute,” Walston said. “That means when you think you can just run in and do a quick errand in the store or any situation, we don’t ever want a child to be left alone in a car, not even for a minute. That also includes our senior adults and pets.”
Walston said leaving the windows cracked for a child, pet or senior with the engine off is not enough ventilation to be safe, and even leaving them in the car with the air conditioning on can pose dangers.
During the event, Walston and team demonstrated how the heat inside vehicles can literally cook s’mores by roasting them on the dashboard. She said there have already been eight deaths in the United States this year from children being left alone in cars. While there have not been any in North Carolina this year, the state had four of the 33 national deaths last year.
“One death is too many, that’s why we’re out here today educating the community,” Walston said. “The car we have out here today actually has a feature that has a reminder to check the backseat when you turn off the engine. It’s important to put something tangible in your backseat that you need to get out when you leave the car – your pocketbook, your cell phone, a briefcase, your lunch bag – just to remind you to always check the backseat.”
Walston said that while many parents think this could never happen to them, it can be as easy as breaking your routine to make a parent forget a child is still in the car. More than 50 percent of child deaths from hot cars are from children that have been forgotten in vehicles, and only 17 percent have been intentionally left.
Walston earns North Carolina Coordinator of the Year
Allan Buchanan, Safe Kids North Carolina director, was on hand during the event to recognize Walston as Safe Kids North Carolina Coordinator of the Year.
Buchanan said Walston is a great role model for other Safe Kids Coordinators and is a great leader for the program across the state.
“She does a wonderful job here in Pitt County, getting the message out on injury prevention,” Buchanan said. “In North Carolina, we actually have 46 coalitions across the state. Ellen does a fabulous job here in Pitt County for injury prevention program across a number of different risk areas. She’s just a vital access to the community and creating risk reduction in this area. We’re very fortunate to have Ellen as a coordinator.”
Last year, Safe Kids Pitt County was recognized as the North Carolina Coalition of the Year. Walston said she’s just happy to share the recognition with her many community partners across Pitt County and eastern North Carolina.
She said the nomination was anonymous but she believes the events her team hosts, the collaboration with community partners and the work that Safe Kids Pitt County does with other Safe Kids coalitions across the state helped earn the award.
“I do think when they see these type of events and the work that we do in Pitt County and beyond that, they pay attention and we really try to partner with other Safe Kids coalitions,” Walston said. “So I’m all about sharing resources and working together, that’s how you make it happen. We’re really fortunate to have such great partners.”