Nebraska expert offers tips on how to protect kids as hot car deaths rise

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The death of a child in a daycare van last August was the fourth to happen in Nebraska between 1990 and 2023.

That’s according to the national nonprofit group Kids and Car Safety.

The same group reports nearly 1,100 deaths nationwide during the same time period.

San Jose State adjunct meteorology professor Jan Null founded No Heat Stroke, which also tracks child deaths in cars.

So far this year, the group said there have been 10 deaths across the country, five in the first 10 days of July.

“My background is as a meteorologist, and the only thing harder to predict than the weather is human actions,” Null said.

Null told 6 News there are three common scenarios in these incidents.

“The one that we most often hear about is—and about 54 percent of the cases—are where children are accidentally forgotten in vehicles by a parent or other caregiver,” he said.

The other scenarios are when a child gets into a car on their own or when someone knowingly leaves a child in the car.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse said it’s always a good idea to double checking your vehicle.

“Put a sticky note on your steering wheel or on your dash or whatever your need to remind yourself that, ‘Hey, you’ve got a passenger that you want to make sure that you’re not forgetting in the back seat,’” Huse said. “I think whatever reminder works for you is worth trying out.”

She also wants to remind people that any kind of underlying health conditions, including respiratory or cardiovascular issues, can make you more prone to heat injury.

“If you’ve got an underlying health condition—whether you’re a kid, an adult, an elderly—we really recommend that you take special care to stay cool and to make sure that you’re getting those fluids.”

And remember, it doesn’t take long for a car to get dangerously hot.

“On a 90 degree day, it will heat up 19 degrees in the first 10 minutes,” Null said. “So it’ll be 90 degrees outside and 109 in the vehicle.”

Null and Huse both emphasize education and awareness to stop future tragedies.

No Heat Stroke encourages parents to teach their kids not to play in cars. In case they do get stuck in one because of child safety locks, teach them to try opening the front doors or honking the car’s horn to get someone’s attention.

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