31 Children Died in Hot Cars in 2025

NEW YORK, April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A child dying in a hot car from pediatric vehicular heatstroke is a 100% preventable tragedy.  As the days grow longer and warmer, a new campaign has been launched to educate the public about this danger that claimed the lives of 31 children last year.

The Injury Free Coalition for Kids and the National Road Safety Foundation have partnered to sponsor a social media contest to find the most impactful creative ways to remind drivers about the risks of children dying in hot cars.  The contest invited those who see these tragedies first-hand – medical professionals, nurses, and trainees in public health and medicine – to submit short videos or graphic messages to alert people to the dangers of leaving a child in a hot car and the risk of death due to pediatric vehicular heatstroke. 

The public can view the finalists online and vote to select the winners of three prizes totaling $5,000.  The winning entries the be featured in national TV and social media campaigns to widely spread the critical message.

“Since 1998, we have lost 1,043 children to pediatric vehicular heatstroke,” said Jeanne Rubsam, Pediatric Trauma Manager at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian and a longstanding member of Injury Free Coalition for Kids, comprised of hospital-based, community-oriented programs whose efforts are anchored in research, education, and advocacy.  “As painful as this statistic is, it is even more horrific because each of those deaths was totally preventable.”

“We hope this contest and the campaign that follows will educate the driving public, and especially parents and caregivers, to always remember their most precious cargo in the back seat,” said Michelle Anderson of the National Road Safety Foundation, a non-profit that promotes safe driving through education.  “Parents need to know they should never leave a child unattended in a car.  One careless moment can change a family’s lives forever.”

Public voting online is open through May 9 at https://injuryfree.org/heatstroke/vote.cfm

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/injury-free-coalition-for-kids-and-national-road-safety-foundation-partner-to-create-messages-to-prevent-child-deaths-in-hot-cars-302755248.html

SOURCE The National Road Safety Foundation