Parents advocate for car passenger alert system to prevent child deaths

Virginia resident Miles Harrison recalled Wednesday how he drove to work one day in July 2008 — and later discovered that he had forgotten his 21-month-old son, Chase, was in the back seat.

“My world changed forever that day,” Mr. Harrison said at a podium outside the U.S. Capitol in support of legislation that would mandate a car passenger alert system. “It started to hit me that I had killed my son. I did it. My poor sweet little boy.”

“This did not have to happen,” he said, as his wife, Carol, held a framed photo of Chase. “If there had been a simple chime to alert me of my son’s presence, none of this would have happened.”

The Harrisons are not alone in their grief. Last year, 52 children under 15 years old died in hot cars, the highest number recorded in a single year since 1990, according to KidsAndCars.org, a national public safety nonprofit. This year, at least seven have perished from vehicular heat stroke.

Amber Rollins, the group’s director, notes that the number of children who died in hot cars has climbed steadily for the last four years, averaging about 38 per year. Over the last 29 years, nearly 900 children have died of vehicular heatstroke.

To stop such deaths, lawmakers are reintroducing the Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats (HOT CARS) Act, which would require all new cars to have a child safety alert system. It calls for equipping cars weighing less that 10,000 pounds with a mechanism that alerts drivers to check the rear seat after they turn off the engine.

Several legislators urged for the bill’s passage of the bill outside of the Capitol, describing it as a way to stop “senseless, tragic and unnecessary deaths.”

“The technology is available, accessible whether it’s a sensor or other kind of detection system. It should be adopted,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat.

“In mere minutes, cars become death traps,” Mr. Blumenthal added, noting how quickly cars’ internal temperature can rise even on mild days.

Ms. Rollins said one of the most dangerous things people can think is that they would never forget a child in the car.

Erin Holley of South Carolina used to think that, until she forgot her 4-week-old son, Finn, was in the back of her car in 2017. During a family walk at a park, she remembered she had left him in the car and rushed back to find Finn unharmed.

“In that moment I knew this could happen to any family,” Ms. Holley said Wednesday.

While Ms. Holley and her family got to celebrate Finn’s birthday this week, others are not so fortunate.

It’s been nearly 11 years since Chase’s death, which has fueled Mr. Harrison to advocate for legislation to end hot car deaths.

He will testify Thursday before House members to call for the passage of the HOT CARS Act. He recently bought a car that sounds an alarm, activates an app alert and flashes a dashboard message to check the back seat.

“I cry every day for Chase,” Mr. Harrison said. “I still have not forgiven myself and don’t know if I have the capacity to do so.”