Blount County 2-year-old is one of 29 to die in a hot vehicle so far this year
A Blount County grandfather faces charges after a 2-year-old boy died Tuesday after being left in a hot vehicle.
According to KidsinCars.org, Ian Wiesman was one of three children across the United States who died in a hot vehicle that day, bringing the total of such deaths to 29 for the year.
William "Bill" Wiesman, 56, faces charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the Blount County case, according to District Attorney Pamela Casey. The case will go to a grand jury which can determine whether he should be prosecuted on those charges, or a different charge.
Casey said this was not an intentional act; it was a reckless or negligent act, resulting in the charge.
Casey said Wiesman picked his grandson up and thought that he'd taken the child to day care in Oneonta, but instead went to his place of business. She said he returned to his truck three times during the day, drove the truck and did not notice the child was inside.
He was in a forward-facing car seat, Casey said.
Another family member came to the day care to pick up the boy, and learned he'd not been there that day. The grandfather then went to the day care, and the child was found dead in the truck there at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Casey stressed that he was not under the care of the facility when he was found. She said his grandfather "always thought" he'd taken the boy to day care.
"I think everyone in the family is heartbroken," she said.
Casey, who said she has a 3-year-old and a 19-month old, showed her emotions during a press conference on the incident. "It's awful if it happens anywhere," she said. "It's awful to work this case and then go home to your babies.
"I didn't sleep last night," she said.
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Two other hot car deaths Tuesday
Also on Tuesday, an 8-month-old died in Jacksonville, Florida, after her father left in a vehicle for about an hour, and a 2-year-old was found dead in a car that was stolen and abandoned after the child's father was shot and killed in Houston.
Amber Rollins, director of the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, said more than 1,000 children have died in hot vehicles since 1990; at least 7,300 survived with varying types of injuries based on collected data.
The highest single-year death toll, according to KidsinCars.org, was 54 in 2018. The numbers have decreased since then, to 53 in 2019, 26 in 2020 and 23 in 2021, but the five-year average remains a sobering 38, or one every nine days.
"Approximately 87% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger," she said, and the majority (56%) were unknowingly left by "an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver."
Even though fall is approaching, Rollins said, and temperatures are not as extreme, children are at risk still for hot care tragedies. The nonprofit has documented hot car deaths that occurred when outside temperatures were in the 60s.
The nonprofit advocates the requirement for new vehicle to include technology to help prevent hot car deaths.
“We are committed to the push for occupant detection technology in all cars immediately. As we continue our advocacy, children continue to die week after week. It is beyond heartbreaking," Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids in Cars Safety, said.
Child hot car deaths and injuries are largely misunderstood by the general public and the majority of parents believe this would never happen to them, Rollins said in a press release. The nonprofit provided the following safety tips for parents and caregivers:
Create simple habits to help keep your children safe
Make sure your child is never left alone in a car
Place the child's diaper bag or an item in the front passenger seat as a visual cue that the child is with you.
Make it a habit to open the back door every time you park to ensure no one is left behind.
Place an item that you can't start your day without in the back seat (employee badge, laptop, phone, handbag, etc.).
Ask your child care provider to call you right away if your child hasn't arrived as scheduled.
Clearly announce and confirm who is getting each child out of the vehicle. Miscommunication can lead to thinking someone else removed a child.
More:There's a science behind why children get left in cars.
Make sure children cannot get into a parked vehicle
Keep vehicles locked at all times, especially in a garage or driveway. Ask neighbors and visitors to do the same.
Never leave car keys within reach of children.
Use childproofing knob covers and door alarms to prevent children from exiting your home unnoticed.
Teach children to honk the horn or turn on hazards lights if they become stuck inside a car.
If a child is missing, immediately check the inside, floorboards and trunk of all vehicles in the area carefully, even if they are locked.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Blount County child's hot car death was one of three on Tuesday
