After sitting under the scorching sun on a 95 degree afternoon, the inside of a black Chevy Suburban reached a temperature high enough to fry an egg on the dashboard.
Safe Kids San Antonio, in partnership with the Texas Heatstroke Task Force and the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council parked the car in the sun as part of their annual heatstroke awareness presentation. The organizations were illustrating the danger of leaving a child in the car on a hot day.
Within 15 minutes, more than 50 percent of the heat rises in the car, which, added to the fact that a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s body could lead to serious brain damage or death.
“Even a minute in a car can be too much for a kid depending on the temperature inside and outside the vehicle,” said Dr. Lillian Liao of the University of Texas Health and Science Center San Antonio. “Never leave a kid alone, not even for a minute.”