Nine-month-old child dies of heatstroke in car after being left unattended – check your car before you lock

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Tragic news has surfaced once again of a child dying of heatstroke in a locked car, this time claiming the life of a nine-month-old girl in Kuantan, the New Straits Times reported. It is a reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in a locked car; and no matter how little time you think that ‘quick errand’ will take, just don’t do it.

The victim’s father had left the car for lunch after dropping off his wife at her workplace, and had earlier dropped off their two elder daughters aged six and 10 at kindergarten and primary school respectively, said district police chief assistant commissioner Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali. The father was supposed to send the nine-month-old daughter to a nursery but instead drove straight to his workplace, he said.

“The victim was found lying motionless in the child seat in the back of the vehicle. She was rushed to a clinic where she was pronounced dead. The victim’s father was supposed to drop her off at a nursery in Indera Mahkota but it slipped his mind. She was left in the car for some four hours between 9am and 1pm,” the district police chief assistant commissioner said.

A video uploaded in 2015 by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demonstrated just how dangerous heatstroke can be. Here, NFL player Tyrann Mathieu sat inside a car under direct sunlight to see just how long he could last in the heat. The professional athlete lasted just eight minutes before he had to make his escape, at which point the car’s interior was measured at 48.9 degrees Celsius.

A child’s body heats up much more quickly than an adults, leaving them more susceptible to the dangers associated with heatstroke, according to paediatric emergency experts. Fifteen minutes in a heated car interior could cause life-threatening brain or kidney injuries, and when the child’s body temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius, internal organs shut down, and at 41.6 degrees Celsius, death could occur.

Unintended forgetfulness could be a likely factor in children being left behind in cars, and so it is crucial that the parent or guardian does their best to remember. One way is to place a required item in the rear seats with the child so that the driver has to retrieve it before leaving the vehicle. Passersby, if you’ve spotted a child or a pet left alone in a parked vehicle, you should call the police immediately.

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Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • MeToo on Feb 18, 2020 at 10:47 am

    What kind of parent can forget their child is in the car? Maybe they should stop breeding..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 6
    • Korean Fan on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:18 pm

      Certain our kind mudah lupa. be safe with Hyundai cars and Rear Occupant Alert feature…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
    • Logical Deduction on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:45 pm

      Yup. Can’t blame the parents if they weren’t focused due to external factors.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Korean Fan on Feb 18, 2020 at 5:20 pm

      Some pipu mudah lupa or dementia…stay safe in Hyundai cars with Rear Occupant Alert feat.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Western Star on Feb 18, 2020 at 10:58 am

    Somehow this “leaving children unattended in a locked car”
    and this “The victim’s father had left the car for lunch after dropping off his wife at her workplace, and had earlier dropped off their two elder daughters aged six and 10 at kindergarten and primary school respectively” doesn’t really jive?

    If the father had dropped off the kids, how could he had left one in the car before going for lunch with his wife? And the wife also didn’t notice one of their kid in the car? Either this story doesn’t add up or the reason wasn’t purposely leaving the kid unattended in the car and more likely the father wasn’t aware his kid was in it somehow.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
    • Chris P. Bacon on Feb 18, 2020 at 1:27 pm

      Western Star,

      I understand your confusion regarding the PT report.

      It seems PT may have misquoted or incorrectly reported some facts of the event.

      Here is a copy and paste from a newspaper report, which should clarify the matter.

      “A nine-month-old girl died after being left inside a car by her father who allegedly forgot about her when he parked the vehicle and went to work at the Tun Abdul Razak Complex here.

      Kuantan OCPD ACP Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali said the father found the girl unconscious in her seat on the rear passenger seat of the Perodua Alza car when he was going out for lunch at about 1pm.

      “The father then rushed the girl to the Indera Mahkota Health Clinic, where she was pronounced dead, ” he told reporters here yesterday.

      He said the victim, the youngest of three sisters, was believed to have been left in the car since 9am.”

      Hope that helps to clear up your query.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • EDITOR on Feb 18, 2020 at 4:19 pm

        Can I advice our writers something? If you’re going to lift news report from a veritable source, I would advice quoting the whole article and credit the news agency. You don’t have to rewrite the newspiece and risk causing such confusion as pointed out by Western Star and Chris P.Bacon.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • vivizurianti on Feb 18, 2020 at 11:00 am

    Ini semua dugaan dan cubaan dari Tuhan…..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 7
    • xem6861 on Feb 19, 2020 at 9:41 pm

      Ini semua kecuaian manusia,tak perlu letakkan tanggungjawab atas Tuhan.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Tak nak bertangungjawab, jangan beranak. Full stop. Imagine that last 3 hours the child went through. Should have law to punish the parents. Happened way too often.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 2
  • seancorr (Member) on Feb 18, 2020 at 11:33 am

    I understand if you left your phone in the car since it’s quite small but to leave a human being in the car is beyond me. Did the dad drive a 30 seater bus to work or what?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 0
  • Story of a Married Man Mr MIA on Feb 18, 2020 at 11:48 am

    Every morning drop off wife at her work place
    send kids to kindergarden n school n nursery

    Later pickup wife n kids

    Repeat these routines for next 10 years?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Ruslan Bahari on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Innalilahi wainnailaihi rojiun. What a tragedy. Yes I guess we are quick to attack the dad, but no dad will do this willingly. Don’t get me wrong; he is still at fault but we need to understand what was on his mind that it could have led to this. The law still needs to be applied to him.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0
  • Proton oh Proton on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    A new safety feature requires to be implemented. Alarm should turn on if anyone at the back seat after lock. Similar like seat belt alarm.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • PDW7257 on Feb 18, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    Off topic but congratulations to Tyrann Mathieu and the Chiefs! SUperbowl 54 Champs!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
  • bobzam on Feb 18, 2020 at 2:33 pm

    Hyundai santa fe can detect even single drop of sweat…if child left ,sure have movement,going trigger the car alarm.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • Damon Lee on Feb 18, 2020 at 3:40 pm

      But what happens if the car detects someone behind and there is NOBODY back there? Deng deng deng!!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • vivizurianti on Feb 18, 2020 at 3:51 pm

    This sort of “accident” is certainly not the last and not the first in Malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
    • EDITOR on Feb 18, 2020 at 4:20 pm

      Unfortunately this is neither limited to Malaysia, as USA too had such cases.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Adamos on Feb 18, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    When cases like this happens. I sometimes wonder the need of having extremely dark tints for rear windows as it leaves no chance for the infant from being noticed by someone close by. Just came to mind and it has no relation to the above case as I have no clue on the tint levels on the vehicle.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Ford_ton on Feb 18, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    I bet the car windows are super dark as the trend now. I myself limits the tint to 25 % all round. Use a quality tint that rejects unwanted heat without impairing visibility.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
    • Safety First on Feb 19, 2020 at 10:03 am

      So ini salahan Ah Loke??

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
      • Adamos on Feb 19, 2020 at 4:49 pm

        Can’t put it that way. My as well blame Karl Benz and Henry Ford for developing the modern day cars that we use today.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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