In a span of 24 hours, two separate events in Texas led to the tragic deaths of two young children who were left in overheated cars. The incidents, involving a nine-month-old in Beeville, Texas, and a 22-month-old in Corpus Christi, Texas, have reignited discussions on child safety and the dangers of leaving children alone in vehicles, particularly during the intense Texas summer heat.
The first of these incidents occurred in Beeville, roughly 100 miles southeast of San Antonio, Texas. A nine-month-old child was left in a car by the grandmother for about eight hours, and was found unresponsive on Wednesday. According to the Beeville Police Department, the child was discovered around 4 p.m. in a child safety seat of the grandmother’s vehicle, having been there since roughly 8:30 a.m.
Despite the grandmother’s immediate call for assistance upon discovering the child, the infant could not be revived. The Beeville police are working with the Texas Rangers and the Department of Public Safety in their ongoing investigation. While no charges have been filed yet, authorities have indicated that charges may be forthcoming as the investigation proceeds.
The second incident involved a 22-month-old child named Harley Adame in Corpus Christi, Texas. The mother, middle-school teacher Hilda Adame, forgot to drop Harley off at daycare and left her in a parked SUV outside the local school from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this time, the outside temperature rose to triple digits.
Hilda Adame discovered her error and immediately removed Harley from the vehicle and brought her into the school’s nurse’s office where attempts were made to revive her through CPR. However, by the time first responders arrived, Harley could not be saved.
The Corpus Christi police department is treating this case as a criminal homicide. Hilda Adame, 33, has been arrested and charged with injury to a child and abandonment.
These incidents bring the total number of child hot car deaths in Texas this year to three, with the first death taking place in July. As per Kids and Car Safety, at least 27 children have died in hot cars across the United States in 2024 alone. Texas has the highest number of such deaths, with a record of at least 157 child fatalities from hot cars between 1990 and 2023.
“Temperatures inside a vehicle can reach lethal levels within just minutes, especially in places like Texas where summer heat can be extreme,” stated Dr. Jan Null, a meteorologist who has studied vehicular heatstroke extensively. “These deaths are 100% preventable, yet they continue to happen because of simple mistakes that can have devastating consequences.”
Authorities and child safety advocates have consistently urged caregivers and parents to take additional precautions to ensure children are not inadvertently left in vehicles. Some of the suggested measures include placing an essential item like a phone or purse in the back seat as a reminder, setting a reminder on your phone to check the car, or utilizing technology that alerts drivers when a child is still in the vehicle.
As the investigations into the incidents in Beeville and Corpus Christi progress, it is expected that authorities will take legal action against those responsible. Meanwhile, communities across Texas are coming to terms with the tragic loss of these young lives and the stark reminder of the risks associated with high temperatures and inattentive driving.
