According to statistics, on average, 38 children younger than 15 die each year of heatstroke after being locked and trapped in hot vehicles. Although these numbers are concerning and devastating, we still hear of moms and dads who somehow happen to forget their little ones in the car during hot summer days when the temperatures rise and the heat index goes very high.
Most times, the reason why kids are left alone in hot vehicles is because the parents aren’t even aware of the dangers and believe the children are perfectly safe while waiting for their moms and dads to run errands and go shopping. But, sometimes it takes a little for a tragedy to struck.
A few days ago, another case of a toddler trapped in a car during a hot day was reported. Luckily, it didn’t turn out fatal all thanks to a 12-year-old boy who stopped a tragedy from taking place.
Namely, Ben Theriot and his mom were getting to their car at a store’s parking lot when they heard strange cries coming from a parked vehicle. They both knew something was wrong and someone was in trouble so they decided to see where those noises were coming from.
The sight left them pretty concerned. A two-year-old boy was sitting inside one of the cars all alone and they could say he was terrified. His mom left him there while she was shopping inside the store.
Luckily, Ben didn’t panic. The only thing on his mind was to get the crying boy out.
He grabbed a ratchet strap and started pounding on the car’s windshield as hard as he could.
Breaking that glass, however, was harder than Ben though. But, he just knew he had to do its best to crack it. The quick-thinking boy then got on top of the car and started hitting the windshield with his feet until it broke through.
As he finally managed to open the doors and get the boy out of the car, Ben’s mother called the police who arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes.
Everyone felt relieved when they realized the two-year-old was fine. But if it wasn’t for Ben and his mom, things could have turned out for the worse.
The police tracked the mom down and questioned her regarding the incident.
The mother said how she believed she didn’t actually leave her child unattended as she though there was another adult there with him. But with the heat index reaching 116 degrees that day, there really was no space for ‘thinking.’ She had to be sure the boy wasn’t in any sort of danger before heading to that store.
As a result of her negligence, she was fined with $250 under Oklahoma’s “Forget Me Not” law of 2008. The law clearly states it’s forbidden for young children and vulnerable adults to be left in vehicles unattended.
The boy was allowed to go home with his mother but social services would further investigate whether that was a one time incident and would make sure the mother keeps closer eye on her kid. We hope she learned her lesson!
You can take a look at the whole story in the video below.