DeSantis signs bill to protect children from hot car deaths

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis signed seven bills Friday, including one that declares April as “Hot Car Death Prevention Month.”

The bill is named after 10-month-old Ariya Paige from Baker County. She died after being left in her babysitter’s SUV for five hours on one of the hottest days of July 2023.

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Last year in Florida, eight children died after being left in a hot car. Florida leads the nation when it comes to hot car deaths.

Ariya’s family pushed for this law, to help save other children.

“We felt like if we could commemorate A’s with the safety of other children so that no other family has to go through it. What our family has gone through,” Pamela Paige, Ariya’s grandmother, said.

Temperatures inside a car heat up fast, rising 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. That means on a 90-degree day, the interior of a car can easily reach 130 degrees within an hour.

There are steps you can take to help prevent a tragedy.

• Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — especially the back seat — before locking the doors and walking away

• Ask your childcare provider to call you if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected

• Put a personal item, like a purse, in your back seat. This will remind you to look before you lock up

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If you see a child in a locked car — act fast. Call 911 immediately.