Last month, a three-year-old boy died after left in a vehicle in Las Vegas.
This same tragedy happened ten other times across the country in July, with young victims, ranging in ages from seven weeks to three years old, accidentally being left in hot vehicles and dying of heat stroke. There are approximately 37 children who die this way each year, however, there has already been 29 children killed in 2017 after being accidentally left in vehicles.
What if you see a child trapped in a vehicle? When can you break into a car to save a child?
The summer heat in Nevada is brutal, with triple digit temperatures. These high temperatures can result in the internal temperature of a locked-up vehicle reaching as much as 170 degrees. A person can only withstand temperatures of up to 103 degrees; at 104 the body will begin to shut down, and death will occur at 107 degrees. Under the law in Nevada, a child who is seven years of age or younger cannot be left alone in a vehicle. Tragically, most of these incidents occur because a caregiver forgot the child was in the vehicle and leaves the child in their car seat, exits, and locks the vehicle up.
Good Samaritan Law
Under Nevada’s Good Samaritan law, if you see a child in distress and break into the vehicle to help, protection exists specifically for cases like this.
There are steps you should take if you do discover a child locked in a vehicle.
- The first thing: call 911 to report the incident.
- Provide all details to the operator.
- If the child is alert, then staying with the vehicle until emergency responders arrive should be okay, unless the operator instructs you to do otherwise.
- Lastly, if instructed, break the window, open the door and save the child.
It is best to break a window that is away from the child. Try to also break the window close to the door lock to make it easier to unlock the vehicle.
No matter what type of heavy object you use to break the window, it will probably take several attempts. Once you have gained access to the vehicle, quickly remove the child from the hot vehicle and into a shaded area until help arrives.
Concerned that the Good Samaritan Law doesn’t apply to your case? Contact us today! We offer free consults and no fee unless we win. Don’t hesitate. We answer our phones 24/7 or you could visit our offices.