7: That's how many children have died in hot cars since May 2024, including 1 in Florida

Seven children have died so far this year in a hot car, including one confirmed in Florida.

Another Florida fatality is pending autopsy results, along with two deaths in other states, according to Kids and Car Safety.

At least 1,090 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990. Another 7,500 survived with varying types of injuries, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety.

The majority of deaths happen after the child is unknowingly left in the vehicle by a parent or caregiver.

How many children have died in hot vehicles in 2024?

Seven children have died after being left inside a vehicle, with the most recent being a 4-year-old in Texas on July 3, 2024.

Kids and Car Safety also noted another three child fatalities — including one in Indialantic, Florida (see below) — could be connected to hot cars. Autopsy results are pending.

Here's the breakdown:

• Richland County, South Carolina

  • Date: May 3, 2024

  • Age of child: 3 years

  • How: Child gained access to vehicle

• Bradenton

  • Date: May 20, 2024

  • Age of child: 6 years

  • How: Left in vehicle

• Morgantown, West Virginia

  • Date: May 22, 2024

  • Age of child: unknown

  • How: Left in Unknowingly left in vehicle

• Santee, California

  • Date: June 13, 2024

  • Age of child: 2 months

  • How: Left in vehicle

• Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Date: June 26, 2024

  • Age of child: 8 years

  • How: Left in vehicle

• Marrietta, Georgia

  • Date: July 2, 2024

  • Age of child: 2 years

  • How: Unknown

• Houston, Texas

  • Date: July 3, 2024

  • Age of child: 4 years

  • How: Unknowingly left in vehicle

More hot car deaths to be determined pending autopsy results

• Indialantic

  • Date: June 7, 2024

  • Age of child: 3 years

  • How: Unknown

• Washington, D.C.

  • Date: June 14, 2024

  • Age of child: 4 years

  • How: Unknown

• Perry County, Mississippi

  • Date: June 25, 2024

  • Age of child: 3 years

  • How: Unknown

Florida woman charged with child neglect after leaving 2-year-old in hot Publix parking lot

A Longwood grandmother left a 2-year-old child in a hot car in 91-degree heat outside an Ormond Beach Publix Tuesday while she ordered from the deli counter, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

According to a release, the child had been left in the car, which was not running and had been parked under full sun with the windows cracked, for just over 15 minutes when a Publix manager noticed she appeared lethargic and brought her inside the store to cool off.

After her grandmother, Elana Grady, 63, took custody of her she put the child back in the hot car and smoked a cigarette before leaving, deputies said. The manager provided her license plate number and she was arrested and charged with child neglect. Deputies said the child appeared to be in good health.

How many hot car deaths have there been in Florida in 2024?

The death of a 6-year-old girl in Bradenton on May 20, 2024, was the first in Florida and the second in the U.S. for the year. She was left in a hot car for just over two hours with the windows up. Hospital staff reportedly measured her body core temperature at 107.2 degrees.

Markise Outing, 24, of Ellenton was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child for leaving his girlfriend's daughter in the car parked outside his place of business, according to a release from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Another death of a child June 7, 2024, in Indialantic is pending a cause of death. The 3-year-old child was reported missing and later found dead near a home. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office has not detailed the nature of the child's death.

How do hot car deaths happen?

"Approximately 88% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger and the majority, 55%, were unknowingly left by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver," according to Kids and Car Safety.

The breakdown:

• Unknowingly left in vehicle: 55%

• Gained access to vehicle on their own: 25%

• Knowingly left in vehicle: 15%

• Other or circumstances unknown: 4%

How do parents 'unknowingly' leave children in their vehicles?

"The majority of parents and caregivers are misinformed and would like to believe that a hot car tragedy will never happen to them," Kids and Car Safety posted on its website.

"In over half of hot car deaths, the person responsible for the child unknowingly left them in the vehicle. In most situations, this happens to loving, caring, and protective parents. It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier, and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone."

Kids and Car Safety documented how parents or caregivers unknowingly left children in their cars:

• Supposed to have been dropped off at daycare: 43%

• Miscommunication between two caregivers: 11%

• Left by a childcare provider: 12%

• Unknowingly left by caregiver: 34%

Florida ranks No. 2 in US for child hot car deaths

Here are the top five states for children killed in hot cars documented by Kids and Car Safety:

• Texas: 155; 1991-2023

• Florida 118, 1992-2023

• California: 64 (1990-2022)

• Arizona: 47 (1994-2021)

• Georgia: 45 (1993-2023)

How hot can the inside of a car get and how quickly?

While the majority of these tragedies occur during the summer, deaths have been recorded in every month.

Research has shown that vehicles become dangerously hot quickly, even when the outside temperature is moderate. With an outside ambient air temperature of 72 degrees, the internal vehicle temperature can reach 117 within 60 minutes, with 80% of the temperature increase occurring in the first 30 minutes, the National Safety Council said.

On a 72-degree day, a car's interior can be deadly in less than 30 minutes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Interior vehicle temperatures can be 50 degrees higher than outside temperatures. Even on a cool day when the outside temperature is 61, within an hour, the inside temperature of a car reached more than 105, according to Consumer Reports.

Look before you lock: Safety tips to keep children from dying in hot car

NoHeatStroke.org and the U.S. Department of Transportation suggested the following tips:

• Never leave children unattended in a vehicle, not even for a minute.

• Always check the backseat. Leave your wallet or purse as a reminder.

• Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up as expected.

• Always keep vehicles locked and keys out of reach.

• Store car keys out of a child's reach and teach children a vehicle is not a play area.

• Call 911 if you see a child alone in a vehicle.

What can you do if you see a child locked in a car?

"If you see a child alone in a locked car, act immediately and call 911," said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Florida law protects people who break into vehicles to rescue vulnerable people or pets from harm as long as:

• There's no way for the person or pet to get out

• They have a reasonable belief that the person or pet is in imminent danger of suffering harm

• They have contacted law enforcement or 911 either before or immediately after breaking in

• They use no more force to do so than necessary to remove the person or pet

• They remain with the person or pet in a safe location near the vehicle until law enforcement or a first responder arrives

Any law enforcement officer who sees a child left unattended in these conditions may use "whatever means are reasonably necessary" to protect the child.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hot car deaths: How do parents 'unknowingly' leave kids in cars?