By Ron Smith
Richmond, KY – Forty-nine children died last year in the US after being left unattended in a hot car. With temperatures in the 90's this week in Kentucky, the potential for tragedy exists. Madison County Health Department spokeswoman Christie Green says children are more sensitive to heat than adults.
"Small children, much like the elderly and people with chronic disease cannot regulate their body temperature as well as a healthy adult can. Their internal temperature will rise to dangerous levels faster than that of an adult."
Green suggests parents or caregivers leave house keys or a purse or billfold next to the child's car seat as a way to help remember there's a child in the car. Kentucky has had a child die in a hot vehicle every year since 2004.