Dozens of kids die in hot cars each year. Some advocates say better safety technology should be required.

Three years ago, police investigated Tyler Cestia for manslaughter after he left his 2 1/2-year-old son, Thomas, in his truck at work on a hot summer day.

“In my mind, I remember thinking, ‘Well, I don’t remember going into the nanny’s house to drop Thomas off; I don’t remember that,’” Cestia said. “I just said to myself, ‘It can’t be. There’s no way.'”

Céstia said a confluence of circumstances created the perfect storm that June morning. Originally, he was not supposed to leave Thomas, and the child sat in his brother’s car seat, behind the driver – out of sight. Cestia said she was also recovering from COVID, which caused her mental confusion, and her mind was preoccupied with an audit at work. After six hours of work, he realized that he never left his son that morning.

“I ran to the car to see and, unfortunately, my worst fears came true,” he said.

His wife Pamela received the call and frantically ran to the office parking lot.

“I kind of didn’t know how fast kids could go in the car,” Pamela said. “So I drove like a maniac to Tyler’s work and then I saw Thomas, and he was gone. I just broke down after seeing and knowing what happened.”

It was a moment she had difficulty processing — a moment she said she couldn’t imagine happening to her family.

“I think before this experience I was a little judgmental about it and thought about how people leave their kids in the car and forget about them,” Pamela said. “I think now anyone can leave their kids in the car and forget about them. It could be something else on your mind at that moment, a change in routine, which can happen to anyone.”

Police ruled the death an accident.

Summer heat turns deadly

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that much of the U.S. will see above-average temperatures and dangerous heat this summer. For some children, it has already become deadly.

Last month in South Carolina, a 3-year-old became the first hot car death of the year, after he climbed into the back of a vehicle and became trapped.

A few weeks later, in West Virginia, a 3 month old baby died inside a car after police said it appeared the child was inadvertently left there while the parents were at work.

According to data from advocacy group Kids and Car SafetyOn average, 38 children die every year due to heatstroke in a vehicle. Over the past three decades, more than 1,000 children have died in these incidents.

An analysis of CBS News data shows 83% of all hot car deaths in the past six years they have occurred between May and September – at least one death a week during the sweltering summer. This isn’t just happening in states with warmer temperatures. The breakdown reveals a hot car death reported in nearly every state.

“Frankly, we’re surprised this doesn’t even happen more often,” said Janette Fennell, co-founder and president of Kids and Car Safety.

Fennell said that after the introduction of dual front airbags, parents moved child seats to the rear seats for safety reasons. It was then, she explained, that they began to notice the growing trend of parents forgetting their children in vehicles.

“During this transition, nothing was done to change how we notify people if children are left unattended in vehicles,” she said. “So it’s a direct correlation between putting kids in the back seat, out of sight, out of mind, and then the number of hot car deaths continues to rise..”

Turning to technology

In recent years, companies have created technological advances to help reduce the chances of children being left in cars and dying. Automakers have been working on safety systems that can provide alerts to remind drivers to check for children who may still be in vehicles, or even detect a child left behind.

“We have seen a tremendous amount of innovation in just the last few years, following automakers’ commitment in 2019 to integrate these technologies into all new vehicles,” said Hilary Cain of the automotive industry trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

The 2021 infrastructure law included a requirement for all automakers to install an audible and visual rear seat reminder alert in all new passenger vehicles starting with the 2025 model year. already did that – voluntarily.

Fennell argues that the law and technology don’t go far enough.

“What is written in the law is just a reminder system for the driver,” she said. “We have been working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and they know that this is not really an adequate solution. In fact, we as an organization have documented deaths of six children who died in cars that had exactly that reminder, so it’s obviously not effective.”

The Cestias had this same technology in their truck when Thomas died.

“The way we thought all along about how technology worked in the truck was based on weight,” Tyler Cestia said. “You know, you have a child on the bench, [from] The weight.”

While some vehicles have weight sensors, Cestias’ truck used logical door technology that only prompts the driver to check the back seat at the end of the trip if a rear door was opened and closed at the beginning of the trip. Tyler described the alert as being like the beep that reminds you to buckle up.

“We had a false sense of security with the backseat reminder,” Pamela Cestia said.

NHTSA provided written responses to questions from CBS News, which said: “NHTSA is researching technology and solutions that can provide greater safety benefits beyond the mandatory minimum, including detection technology for unattended occupants.”

radar technology

The Cestias argue that the administration requires more advanced technology, such as radar systems that do not simply issue reminder alerts, but that detect movements. They can even feel a baby’s breathing.

“So the difference between this and a typical rear alert reminder… is that it actually detects the presence of life,” explained Tyler
Warga, with automotive technology supplier Bosch. “It actually moves a child’s chest, and so we’re talking in millimeters in terms of the type of movement it can detect.”

Some of Hyundai’s Genesis models offer what it calls an advanced rear occupant alert system, which uses rear seat alert and radar technology. It also sends notices to parents even when they are not in the vehicle.

“If the sensor detects movement inside the vehicle, the horn will sound and you will also receive an alert in your smart app,” said Stephanie Beeman, manager of vehicle safety, compliance and regulatory affairs at Centro Técnico Hyundai America.

We asked the Alliance for Automotive Innovation why it isn’t committed to the radar technology that some experts consider the gold standard for safety.

“Automakers want to provide technologies that best meet the needs of their customers, and so there are a range of options to do that, and radar technologies would be one of those options,” said Hilary Cain. “There are a lot of people buying vehicles today who don’t have children and may not need or want these systems. Because these systems will be standard on all vehicles, there will be a cost, you know, and it will be reflected in the price of the vehicle for the technologies. So providing a range of technologies can give buyers who are not interested in the technology, who don’t need the technology, a lower price than they would have otherwise.”

According to government documentsupgrading to radar would cost car buyers just $20.

“Companies will follow this path,” Cain said. “They’re already heading in that direction. We just… you have to give them time to do it.”

But Pamela and Tyler Cestia believe that if radar technology had been in their truck three years ago, Thomas would still be alive.

“The gold standard must be met,” said Tyler Cestia. “There is better technology that is far superior to existing technology, and there is no reason for another parent to go through this.”