On the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend 2019, Scott Jones did his usual morning chore of dropping off his eldest children in school And then he returned to his Arizona office and got to work.
About four hours later, his wife Angela called him to ask how their youngest daughter, three-year-old Charlotte, was doing, as they had decided to keep her out of pre-school that week so she could stay home with her father.
But Scott had completely forgotten that he had taken Charlotte with him in his truck to drop her sisters off at school, and when he got home he was on autopilot mode, doing what he did every day – getting out of his truck and starting work.
Charlotte Jones died accidentally after being trapped in her father’s truck for four hours. (Provided | iStock)
“And then all of a sudden I heard panic in his voice,” Angela Jones told Fox News Digital. “At first I thought she fell in the pool or something, and then he started saying, ‘Oh my God, I don’t think I ever got her out of the car.’ Then he realized what was happening and he ran down the driveway.”
Charlotte, or as the family affectionately called her “Charlie,” was left alone in the vehicle as she was missing. Arizona Angela recalled that the temperature reached 98 degrees that day.
Scott called 911, but it was too late and Charlie was dead. blistering heat,
This family is not alone.
Every year, dozens of American children die from being left inside hot vehicles, with most cases caused by parents forgetting they left them there in the first place. Other causes include miscommunication between parents or guardians or forgetting to drop the child off at daycare.
“And it’s not about good or bad parenting, it’s more like the Swiss cheese model, where all sorts of flaws come out at all the wrong times.”
About 55% of child car overheating deaths are caused by children being inadvertently left in vehicles, says Janet Fennell, founder of Kids & Car Safety, which collects data on child overheating deaths and advocates for better car safety standards. The group has been tracking these deaths since 1990.
“In the vast majority of cases, these are good parents,” Fennell said. “In general, 90% of the time, it’s good parents and they certainly never raise a hair on their (child’s) head.”
Fennell says child fatalities have declined because child seat restrictions were in place in front passenger seats, but child fatalities in vehicles have declined. Deaths from heatstroke have increased And it remains high. The group has documented at least 1,083 hot car deaths from 1990 to 2023, including 29 deaths last year and 36 in 2022. Summer months are the most prevalent.
Fennell says some states require car safety seats to be rear-facing, making it difficult for drivers to see a child sitting in the back. He said there are many factors that can lead to a tragedy like this.
The Jones family and “Charlie” in the middle who died after being trapped in his father’s truck for four hours. (be provided)
“The biggest mistake anybody can make is to think that this can’t happen to them or a member of their family, because we work very closely with these families, and many of them will admit to us that that’s what they thought before it happened,” Fennell said.
“And it’s not about good or bad parenting, it’s more like the Swiss cheese model, where all sorts of flaws come out at all the wrong times.”
Angela says Charlie was the heart of their young family and she misses him very much.
“She was our mischievous, funny, always making funny faces, our little girl,” Jones said. “She was the light of our family, and we’re always talking about her. We try to honor her memory.”
Angela said the tragedy that happened to her family can happen to other families, and she has made it her mission to inform parents about the dangers and help them come up with some preventive measures to prevent such incidents from happening.
7 ways to stay safe in the scorching heat this summer
A child is sitting in a car seat. (kids and car safety)
“I made it my mission and that’s helped me through everything, spreading awareness and sharing my story, because I never thought this would happen to us.”
“And what I’ve learned over the years and talking to other families is that people have a lot of judgment, and they think, ‘Oh my god, how could a parent forget about their child. How does that happen? They must be bad parents, or they must be drunk or negligent.'”
“And obviously it’s not. We did everything we could to protect our kids, but we never realized it was a threat until it happened to us,” Jones said.
“So, I want to share our story, we’re normal, loving parents. I just want other people to understand this, so they can have a backup plan or do something, because this is a preventable tragedy and it can be prevented through various measures that you can take.”
Jones said she is working closely with children and car safety to alert people to some of the mistakes they may be making and to advocate for it. New technology In cars.
The group is pushing the federal government to regulate sensors that are installed in vehicles to alert drivers if someone is inside. Even if the law passes, they admit it will take years to install such sensors in all cars.
Charlotte Jones died when her father accidentally left her in his truck in 2019. (be provided)
Other solutions include placing some items you’ll need later, like your wallet or purse, in the car seat with your child, Jones said.
“If you are going somewhere outside of your normal routine, I would suggest that the parent call the caregiver who is taking the child to make sure they get to their destination, or make an agreement with the daycare that if the child doesn’t arrive at the scheduled time, they will call the parent to ask if everything is okay,” Jones said.
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Jones also said that Car seats It should be placed on the opposite side from the driver’s side so when they look back they can see the baby. She said Charlie was seated directly behind her on the day her father died.
“People forget things all the time,” Jones said. “They forget to turn off the oven, or they forget to do all kinds of things, your brain goes on autopilot. And people are so busy these days, people are running from place to place. And sometimes you get out of a routine because the kids are in school, so unfortunately that happens.”
“And it’s completely preventable.”
